Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Thursday evening here in Washington and we’re sad to hear that Prince has died.
Here’s what else is happening.
THE BIG STORY
Industry and business groups are flocking to the White House to ask for last-minute changes to a new rule that will extend overtime pay to millions of American workers.
The Labor Department’s proposal would make all salaried workers who earn less than $970 per week, which is roughly $50,440 a year, eligible for overtime pay. The cut off now is at $455 a week, or roughly $23,660 a year for a full-time employee.
{mosads}The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (ORIA) has had 14 meetings with groups since it received the final rule on March 14. The participants include the National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition of Franchisee Associations.
The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), a trade association for those who provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, met with OIRA on April 11 to ask that the rule be implemented more slowly.
Gabrielle Sedor, the group’s chief operating officer, said Medicaid largely pays for the services her members provide, and those rates are set by states. While ANCOR supports updating the overtime regulation, she said putting it in place so quickly, without additional funding, threatens the industry as a whole.
“We’re asking for more time for implementation to give states an opportunity to figure out what this would mean for budgets and how to adjust the rates accordingly,” she said.
When the Department of Labor (DOL) made home-care providers eligible for minimum wage and overtime pay in 2013 by changing the definition of “domestic service employment” and “companionship services,” Sedor said the agency gave industry 15 months to comply.
“DOL knows the issues we have, and we have asked for that consideration again,” she said.
In addition to asking OIRA for more time to implement the rule, ANCOR members took to Capitol Hill on Thursday to lobby lawmakers for more Medicaid funding.
“We support the intent of the rule,” Sedor said. “We do understand the threshold needs to be updated, and we agree that our workers work really hard and deserve to be paid. The challenge for us, specific to our industry, is that we are almost completely reliant on Medicaid funds.”
Other groups, like NFIB, want to see OIRA send the rule back to the Labor Department.
“The best case scenario is for OIRA to tell DOL to go back to the drawing board on this because they didn’t do a robust enough analysis on the economic impact of the rule, particularly on small businesses,” said Dan Bosch, senior manager of regulatory policy at NFIB.
If ORIA signs off, Bosch said NFIB would consider challenging the rule in court.
“Our research department did a survey that found 44 percent of small businesses nationwide have an employee impacted by the rule,” he said. “Given that broad impact, that’s something we’d have to strongly consider.”
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee was expected to discuss the overtime rule and the rising costs of doing business on Thursday, but the hearing was postponed. It has not yet been rescheduled. http://bit.ly/1pmhpDv
TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY
The Obama administration will publish 222 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register.
–The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will consider new disclosure requirements.
The SEC will issue a concept release that proposes new business and financial disclosure requirements. This is part of an effort to modernize rules that date back to the 1930s.
“We seek to assess whether they continue to provide the information that investors need to make informed investment and voting decisions and whether any of our rules have become outdated or unnecessary,” the SEC writes.
The public has 90 days to comment. http://bit.ly/211vQKZ
–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will correct mistakes made in an emissions rule.
The EPA is fixing errors in a rule for motor vehicle emissions and fuel standards.
The changes go into effect in 60 days. http://bit.ly/1T1Oso8
–The Department of the Interior will delay new land management rules.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management proposed new rules for managing public lands in February, but is now extending the comment period to give the public more time to consider the changes.
The land management rules would help the agency “more readily address landscape-scale resource issues, such as wildfire.”
“The proposed rule would further emphasize the role of science in the planning process,” the agency adds.
The public has until May 25 to comment. http://bit.ly/2454wgG
NEWS RIGHT NOW
Regulators propose new curbs on Wall Street pay http://bit.ly/1MLg2JX
House panel votes to overturn Obama’s financial adviser rule. http://bit.ly/1U7Cxu8
Senate measure to stop Obama water rule fails. http://bit.ly/2457cuI
Reuters: Manufacturers spend more on regulations than security. http://reut.rs/1qFvjRZ
Top Dem presses airlines on alleged anti-Muslim discrimination. http://bit.ly/1SyyGH2
Gun debate engulfs government funding bills. http://bit.ly/1WfWlvm
BY THE NUMBERS
$400,000: How much the CIA is paying the family of an American killed in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.
The CIA is paying out the sum after changing a policy that prevented life insurance benefits for those without a spouse or child. The Hill’s Julian Hattem has more: http://bit.ly/1VEUOk6
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It seems that some investment advisers are concerned that their business model won’t work if they’re not allowed to cheat people out of their hard-earned retirement savings,” — Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).
Scott criticized a Republican bill that seeks to overturn Obama’s new financial adviser rule. A House panel on Thursday advanced the bill. http://bit.ly/1U7Cxu8
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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