Overnight Regulation: Lawmakers look to delay labor board ruling

by Lydia Wheeler and Tim Devaney - 04/06/17 5:31 PM ET

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It’s Thursday evening here in a wet Washington where Senate Republicans triggered the “nuclear option” to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Read about it here.

THE BIG STORIES

Lawmakers look to halt labor ruling

House lawmakers are calling for a delay of the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) new joint-employer standard that business groups have vehemently opposed.

In a letter Tuesday, 55 Republicans and three Democrats asked the chairman and ranking member of the Appropriations subcommittee on labor to include language in its 2018 budget that would put the new definition on hold for one year.

In August 2015, the NLRB ruled that “indirect” and “potential” control over workers’ terms and conditions makes a company a joint employer. The definition is important because it means that corporate chains could be held responsible for labor violations committed by their franchises.

{mosads}In the letter led by Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the lawmakers said the board’s decision to overturn a more than 30-year precedent has confused and frustrated their constituents.

“This new joint-employer standard would hold businesses liable for management and actions of workers they do business with, but don’t actually employ or control,” they wrote.

“The new standard could extend liability from individual franchisees to brand companies, from subcontractors to larger employers and even from a vendor or supplier to the company purchasing their products or services.”

They urged subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to use the budget process to put the new definition on hold.

Opponents of NLRB’s decision welcomed the letter Tuesday.

“It is encouraging to see members of Congress have recognized the uncertainty and unreasonable costs that the NLRB’s decision has placed on franchise owners across the country,” Robert Cresanti, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, said in a statement.

“While there are important steps the Trump administration can take to mitigate the impact of the new standard, franchise small business owners have nowhere to turn but Congress to solve this web of confusion.”

He urged the appropriations subcommittee to add the language to its spending bill.

Find the story here.

OSHA delays silica rule

The Department of Labor is delaying a controversial safety rule on silica exposure.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last year lowered the permissible exposure limit to silica dust for construction workers. The new rule was set to go into effect on June 23.

But the Trump administration announced Thursday it is delaying the silica rule for construction companies by three months until September.

This isn’t the first time the silica rule has been delayed.

OSHA proposed changes to the rule in February 2011 during the Obama administration, but the White House kept the rule in review for more than two years.

Nearly five years later, the Obama administration eventually agreed to cut the maximum silica exposure level in half to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

A large amount of exposure to silica dust is believed to cause lung cancer, kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the agency said.

Read more here.

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

Keep an eye on these rules in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register.

–The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will propose new safety requirements for certain infant sleeping products.

The safety rules are intended to protect babies while they sleep.

The public has 75 days to comment.

–The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is deciding not to enact protections for certain fish.

The FWS proposed listing the headwater chub and certain roundtail chubs as threatened species in October 2015, but the Trump administration will withdraw the rule.

–The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will consider new cosmetics regulations.

The FDA will hold a public meeting on May 25 to discuss the potential regulations in advance of an international conference on regulating cosmetics this summer.

NEWS RIGHT NOW

OSHA delays Obama-era safety rule on silica

USPS reports spike in dog attacks on carriers

Feds propose new safety standards for infant sleep products

GOP senator: Next Supreme Court fight will be ‘armageddon’

Dem senator on Gorsuch: ‘The dark deed is done’

House staffer, Monsanto vet named to top Interior posts

Senate Dems offer bill to restore internet privacy rules

Coal company asks Trump to stay in Paris climate pact

Cohn backs modern version of Glass-Steagall: report

IRS chief says he’s committed to finishing his term

Trump debunked: Start-up founders want more regulation, not less (CNBC)