The president’s FY 2015 budget contains information on the administration’s enforcement and employment initiatives. Ultimately, the budget is subject to congressional approval – where it faces considerable opposition – but it shows the administration’s priorities and illustrates how employers should prepare for greater enforcement and regulatory activity in the coming years. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) budget provides for $11.8 billion in discretionary funding, with much of it focused on the enforcement of employment laws.
Some budget highlights include:
- $266 million ($42 million increase) for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and an additional 300 investigators to increase enforcement of overtime laws, family and medical leave laws, and detecting and deterring misclassification of workers as independent contractors. The budget includes $14 million for the enforcement of misclassification, including $10 million for states to identify misclassification and $4 million for new personnel.
- $565 million ($13 million increase) for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), including an increase of $4 million to investigate whistleblower laws and $10.7 million for Susan Harwood training grants.
- $108 million ($3 million increase) for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the completion of 4,290 compliance evaluations with a focus on both supply and service construction reviews. OFCCP will continue to shift its outreach strategy from being contractor-centric to worker-focused, which will strengthen its enforcement capacity in the process. In addition, the agency will also ensure that contractors and subcontractors are provided linkages to recruitment sources for hiring and advancement of minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
- $41 million ($2 million increase) for the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) to continue efforts to advance transparency and financial integrity protections, primarily through audits, investigations and compliance assistance efforts. The OLMS is expected to release its persuader regulations this year as well.
- $278 million ($4 million increase) for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has already proposed its “Ambush Election” rule.
- $366 million ($4 million increase) for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) whose priority continues to be litigating systemic cases and maintaining a manageable inventory of cases.
- The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) underfunding for both its single and multiemployer programs. The budget notes its liabilities exceed its assets by more than $36 billion but doesn’t break it down between the single and multiemployer programs. The budget calls for authority to adjust premiums, specifically on the multiemployer side.