Chamber frets over new demands on employers

{mosads}The head of the department’s contractor compliance programs, Patricia Shiu, described the rule for contractors on Wednesday as “an important step toward reducing barriers to real opportunities” for veterans and the disabled.

Businesses, however, see it as an unnecessary burden saddling them with more red tape.

The department seems to have listened to concerns from business owners, Johnson said, however “it still will impose on employers millions and millions of dollars of compliance cost.”

Unions have applauded the release of the proposal to increase regulation of silica dust. The rule has been in the works for years and has sat at the White House under a final review since 2011.

According to the department, it will save nearly 700 lives per year.

The Chamber also has its eye on other rules that might hinder business growth.

Another proposal from the Labor Department would require employers to notify the government if they hire consultants for advice on their workers’ unionization activities.

That one, Johnson said, is “very much a concern to the business community.”

He also worried that the rules were being “held up” until new Labor Secretary Tom Perez was confirmed by the Senate, and “now they’re slated to come out.”