On Wednesday, the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) approved two nominations for key Department of Labor (DOL) posts, moving forward the nominations for DOL’s top lawyer and the head of OSHA.
What is your workplace “Harvey Weinstein?”
It’s hard to avoid the Harvey Weinstein scandal in the news this week. For those that missed it, Weinstein, a movie executive and co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, was terminated after multiple women came forward with detailed allegations of sexual harassment and assault. While many of the women who have come forward were aspiring actresses and not company employees, at least one of those women was a 25-year-old receptionist. A recent New Yorker article states that Weinstein, the company CEO, made overt sexual advances toward this woman at least a dozen times. The young woman told the New Yorker she was “very afraid” of Weinstein, but she still reported the incidents to the company. It was reported that sixteen former and current executives and assistants at Weinstein’s companies had witnessed or had knowledge of his behavior (relating to various women), but it does not appear that the company thoroughly investigated or took action to properly address the reports and allegations.
Data security breach at OSHA? False alarm – this time.
In late June, we notified our readers that OSHA had again delayed the compliance date for electronically submitting injury and illness reports. Notwithstanding the ongoing delays, this regulation has charitably been described as a political hot potato.
Acosta confirmed as Labor secretary
Yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted to confirm Alexander Acosta as the 27th U.S. Secretary of Labor by a vote of 60 to 38. Mr. Acosta is the final appointee to complete the confirmation process and is currently the only Latino in President Trump’s cabinet.
Is the Department of Labor reverting to Obama-era media strategies?
by Erik Dullea and Sonia Anderson
Department of Labor press releases issued during April suggest that DOL, including OSHA and MSHA, may have returned to the aggressive public relations strategy of calling out companies by name, which was utilized during the previous administration. Former head of OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, reportedly called this strategy “regulation by shaming.”
The Volks Rule officially comes to an end
As forecast in our previous discussion, on April 4th President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 83. This was the final action to complete the Congressional Review Act (CRA) process, disposing of the “Volks Rule” and reinstating to the six-month statute of limitations for recordkeeping activities.
In time for Opening Day, Congress swings for the fences with Congressional Review Act
Passed in 1996, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) has been getting a lot of use since President Trump’s inauguration. Just in the last two months, Congress has now used it twice to permanently roll back safety regulations.