Labor Law Fines for Current Violations Kept in White House Plan - Bloomberg Law
The White House is moving forward with a proposal to fine employers for existing violations of labor laws, while dropping penalties for new labor violations, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
The latest labor penalty proposal was included in a framework for Democrats’ sweeping tax and social spending package released by the White House Thursday. It’s not clear yet whether the administration’s proposal will gain the support of the party’s progressive and moderate wings.
The House Democrats’ original proposal would have attached financial penalties to newly defined violations of the National Labor Relations Act, like “captive audience” meetings to discourage workers from joining union organizing efforts. Two sources briefed on the negotiations said those penalties will be cut from the package because they were deemed unlikely to pass muster with the Senate official who oversees rules for reconciliation, the procedure Democrats are using to advance the bill.
The new proposal retains provisions from House Democrats that would establish penalties for existing unfair labor practices, enabling the National Labor Relations Board to collect penalties of $50,000, with that fine doubling in some cases. It’s not clear if those numbers would be revised under the White House framework.
An original proposal to exponentially increase penalties under the Fair Labor Standards Act, to be used against employers violating child labor and overtime laws, is also still in the package, the sources said. Greatly increased Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines also made the cut.
Senate Rules
Lawmakers are advancing the bill via the reconciliation process, allowing it to be passed with a simple majority in both the House and Senate. However, that also makes proposals subject to the Byrd rule—a test of whether items are solely budget-related.
A senior Republican labor committee staffer said GOP lawmakers will challenge whether the financial penalties for existing unfair labor practices hue closely enough to the budget. The Republicans won’t, however, challenge the ratcheted fines under the FLSA and those levied by OSHA, the GOP aide said.
A coalition of more than 600 business groups rallied against including new NLRA fines in the reconciliation package.
The latest legislative proposal also retains budget increases for labor enforcement agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Penn in Washington at [email protected]; Paige Smith in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah Babbage at [email protected]; Jay-Anne B. Casuga at [email protected]
source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/labor-law-fines-for-current-violations-kept-in-white-house-plan
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