Between Biden’s State of the Union Speech featuring a well-publicized call for paid leave and a hike in the minimum wage, Congressional democrats pushing for automatic retirement plan legislation, and a host of new regulatory rulemaking, the gears of policy-making seem to be turning rapidly.
While it's easy for businesses to start preparing for the next law regulations headache, such headlines are often head-fakes given structural changes to how Washington works (and doesn't). As election season rolls around, businesses leaders should be able to to sift through the difference between material and irrelevant stories coming out of DC.
However, the most publicized calls from the administration and congressional democrats, in the minority since 2022, are unlikely to get anywhere close to being laws. Just like the vast majority of rhetoric that is sure to come out of the November US presidential election.
Gridlock has gotten so bad in congress that without overwhelming bi-paristan support, any labor legislation is unlikely to pass. This is a bit of mixed blessing as it nullifies the real effect of more radical, costly, and generally difficult regulatory proposals.
In absence of congressional capacity, labor issues of the day are being kicked to the states, courts, and executive agencies. This fragmentation is creating a wave of quieter but more material impacts. Without the ability to pass new laws in Congress the Biden administration, like the Trump administration, has turned to executive agencies like the Department of Labor, NLRB, and FTC to pursue its agenda.
Many of the attempted changes by executive agencies are challenged by pro-business groups like the Chamber of Commerce in the courts. This effectively places new regulatory rules on pause and sets the court effectively as the final rulemaking on many otherwise legislative issues. This was on display when a Texas judge struck down the DOLs joint employer rule, casting the new regulations timeline and status into doubt.
Since these regulatory changes occur in state capitols and more boring courtrooms, a severe disconnect has taken place. Pundits and popular headlines prioritize sensationalizing rhetoric out of Washington while the real business impacts are being adjudicated elsewhere.
So for this election season, its wiser to avoid anything on the TV in favor of a look through SHRM or Law360’s labor law section when deciding what compliance headache to prepare for next.
Comments