HR Policy’s Future Workplace Policy Council opened its year-end webinar series with a discussion with Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda regarding the administration’s current and upcoming labor and employment law and policy priorities. Ms. Nanda offered her thoughts on a number of different burning regulatory topics, while a reaction panel representing the employer view offered their thoughts from the management perspective.
Robust enforcement, substantial rulemaking: Ms. Nanda emphasized the Department of Labor’s “early and often” commitment to enforcement of wage and hour laws. She also detailed how continuous collaboration with other agencies has fostered a “whole-of-government” approach to enforcing labor and employment laws.
Ms. Nanda also discussed the DOL’s recent independent contractor rulemaking, which she maintained “provides a more consistent framework with longstanding judicial precedent.” Notably, Ms. Nanda seemed unconcerned that the recent Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, which could limit administrative agency authority, would have any impact on the DOL’s regulatory efforts.
The employer perspective: Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Franzese noted that because of the administration’s whole-of-government approach to enforcement and regulation, an employer could be forced to deal with multiple agencies regarding a single alleged violation, with agencies often competing for a “better” outcome. Mr. Schwartz also noted that this approach has involved several agencies working closely together to exert pressure on certain corporations, often at the behest of organized labor or other special interest groups. “All of the mechanisms of government are being used” against larger corporations, said Mr. Schwartz. Mr. Franzese and Mr. Schwartz also offered insights into best practices for limiting joint employer liability as well as avoiding misclassification.
What’s next: Please join us Wednesday, November 9, for A New Frontier for HR: Data Privacy Policy Challenges and Considerations, featuring legal experts and veteran practitioners. More details and registration information can be found here, and the full program for the year-end webinar series can be found here.
