Overnight Regulation: Republicans target controversial labor ruling

Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Wednesday here in Washington where Donald Trump stole the headlines on Capitol Hill.

 

THE BIG STORY

The GOP is winding up for another fight with the Obama administration over a controversial labor policy.

The Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act introduced Wednesday by Republicans would roll back a policy that holds companies liable for labor violations committed by their business partners.

{mosads}The National Labor Relations Board issued the controversial “joint employer” decision last month while Congress was on recess. The board argues that businesses hide behind staffing agencies and contractors so they can avoid dealing with unions. http://bit.ly/1JoHTdA

In many cases, these companies define the working conditions faced by their contractors’ employees, and therefore, they should also negotiate with unions, the board argued.

But Republicans blasted the decision as yet another way to expand labor’s grip on the workforce. The legislation introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Rep. John Kline (Minn.) would draw a distinction between an employee’s direct employer and any other companies they work alongside.

They fear the joint employer ruling could force many franchisees out of business.

“The NLRB’s new joint employer standard would make big businesses bigger and the middle class smaller by discouraging companies from franchising and contracting work to small businesses,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

“The board’s effort to redefine the idea of what it means to be an employer will wreak havoc on families and small businesses across the country,” they added.

Republicans challenged another controversial NLRB rule that speeds up union elections earlier this year, but lost when President Obama vetoed their plan.

 

ON TAP FOR THURSDAY

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing to discuss what impact the Patient Protection Act and Affordable Care Act will have on competition in the healthcare marketplace. http://1.usa.gov/1O2VfPO

The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training will hold a hearing on how to prevent and respond to sexual assaults on college campuses. http://1.usa.gov/1M8UdCs

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet will hold a hearing to discuss drones and their commercial applications and public policy implications. http://1.usa.gov/1QoSs2D

House Democrats will hold a press conference to call on Congress to approve funding for critical government programs and avoid a shutdown.

Andy Parker will make his first visit to Washington, D.C. since his daughter, a WDBJ-TV reporter, was killed during a live broadcast, to urge Congress to pass gun control legislation.

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 213 new regulations, proposed rules, notices, and other administrative actions in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register.

–The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will back down from a controversial regulation for toys.

The CPSC issued a direct final rule in July “determining that unfinished and untreated trunk wood does not contain heavy elements that would exceed the limits specified in the commission’s toy standard.”

But the agency says it is withdrawing the rule, because of “significant adverse comments” from the public.

The agency will withdraw the rule immediately. http://bit.ly/1OzSsM1

–The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will disqualify felons who are on the run from receiving government subsidies for food.

Fleeing felons will not be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service announced Wednesday.

“The intent of the law is to prohibit individuals who are intentionally fleeing to avoid prosecution or imprisonment from receiving SNAP benefits and to aid law enforcement officials actively seeking to apprehend those fleeing,” the agency wrote.

The rule goes into effect in 60 days. http://bit.ly/1FyfGx8

–The USDA will propose new rules to prevent scrapie, a disease, in sheep and goats.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to “amend the scrapie regulations by changing the risk groups and categories established for individual animals and for flocks, increasing the use of genetic testing as a means of assigning risk levels to animals, reducing movement restrictions for animals found to be genetically less susceptible or resistant to scrapie, and simplifying, reducing, or removing certain recordkeeping requirements.”

The public has 60 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1K8qO4B

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Kline: Republicans will start the next Congress without one of the most vocal critics of President Obama’s labor policies. http://bit.ly/1LkEBGk

Ozone: Nearly three-quarters of United States voters want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put further limits on the ozone pollution that causes smog, a new poll found. http://bit.ly/1Nqd8ci

Child labor: The Department of Labor (DOL) is fining one of the largest fundamentalist Mormon churches $1.9 million for allegedly violating child labor laws. http://bit.ly/1gaaHvG

Guns: Traffickers who purchase guns for felons are coming under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. http://bit.ly/1MboikV

Apprentices: The Obama administration is spending $175 million on apprenticeship programs across the country in an effort to grow a skilled workforce. http://bit.ly/1JVRkkU

Right to die: The California assembly approved legislation Wednesday that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives, the AP reports. http://bit.ly/1Fyi86L

Cage-free: McDonald’s 16,000 U.S. and Canadian restaurants will only serve eggs laid by cage-free chickens within the coming decade, Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/1JU3Per

 

BY THE NUMBERS

73 percent: Voters who favor stricter ozone limits, according to an American Lung Association poll released Wednesday.

$95 billion: How much the American Gaming Association estimates sports fans will wager on NFL and college football games this season.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I do feel like I’m kind of leaving in the fight,” Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee and a tough critic of Obama’s labor policies, told reporters Wednesday. Kline announced his retirement last week.

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.

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