The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has ambitious plans to repeal or rewrite over 60 regulations affecting workplaces across the country. Although the department did not specify which regulations will be targeted, two proposed rules involve the minimum wage rate for home health care workers and the removal of affirmative action requirements in registered apprenticeship programs.
- The proposed home health care worker rule proposes to reverse an earlier 2013 rule that provided such workers with minimum wage protection and seeks instead to revert to the 1975 regulations where these workers were exempt from the minimum wage laws.
- The proposed affirmative action rule seeks to remove affirmative action obligations in registered apprenticeship programs that were implemented in the 1960s. The rule proposal states that it will “streamline and simplify sponsors' obligations, while maintaining broad and effective nondiscrimination protections for apprentices and those seeking entry into apprenticeship programs.”
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement that the DOL plans to make “aggressive deregulatory efforts” and that there will be “63 deregulatory actions aimed at reversing the costly and burdensome rules imposed under previous administrations.” The goal of these changes, according to Chavez-DeRemer, is to “put the American worker first.”
Proposed OSHA Regulation Changes
The DOL has also proposed several rules affecting and removing current regulations within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
- One proposed rule would remove the Construction Illumination Standard, which requires that construction areas are lighted when work is being performed. OSHA has determined that this rule is no longer necessary because “it does not reduce a significant risk to workers.”
- Additionally, the DOL has proposed a rule that would limit OSHA’s General Duty Clause to “to exclude from enforcement known hazards that are inherent and inseparable from the core nature of a professional activity or performance.” This rule would codify that the “General Duty Clause does not authorize OSHA to prohibit, restrict, or penalize inherently risky activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.”
- OSHA is also seeking to remove the rule that initiated recording and recordkeeping requirements related to COVID-19.
These proposed regulations are not yet in effect and are now open for public comment. More proposed rules are likely to be announced.
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