Federal Agencies Regulatory Agenda

Posted by AIV

Last week, the Biden Administration published its “Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions” (click here), the biannual report on actions administrative agencies plan to issue in the near and long term. Although the Agenda tends to be aspirational, it provides important insights about proposed regulatory and deregulatory actions, as well as broader priorities, at the federal level. This latest edition includes 2,673 “active” actions that agencies expect to work on, but not necessarily finalize, over the next 12 months.

Although Vermont has been delegated regulatory authority in several key areas, including those governed by VDOL/VOSHA and ANR, federal regulation can still impact Vermont employers directly, through required state alignment, or by providing models/inspiration for state regulations or legislation.

Below are some highlights – AIV will be watching for developments and updates, but if there are any issues that are of interest to you for more information or opportunities for engagement, please contact us at info@aivt.org.

DOL

  • In October 2022, the Wage and Hour Division will issue a proposal amending the regulations implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements for executive, administrative, and professional employees. Click here.
  • Comments are due tomorrow, June 30, on OSHA’s proposed amendments to its injury and illness recordkeeping requirements with a final regulation due out in December 2022. Click here.
  • OSHA anticipates updating the existing lock-out/tag-out standard to incorporate new technological advances that employ computer-based controls of hazardous energy (e.g. mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, chemical, and radiation) with a new proposed rule in March 2023. Click here.
  • OSHA also plans to release a proposed rule addressing workplace infectious disease hazards like Covid-19, SARS, chickenpox, and measles in May 2023. Click here.
  • The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs closed the public comment docket in April on its proposal to amend pre-enforcement notice and conciliation procedures related to alleged discrimination; a final rule is not expected until May 2023. Click here.
  • OFCCP also anticipates a proposed rule in March 2023 to modernize contractors’ recordkeeping and affirmative action program obligations, including heightened efforts to combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Click here.

NLRB

  • The Board will engage in rulemaking on the joint employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act, with a proposed rule expected July 2022. Click here.
  • In September 2022, the Board will seek to revise the rule that was finalized by the Trump Board in April 2020, relating to blocking charges, voluntary recognition, and bargaining relationships in the construction industry (representation election procedures). Click here.

EPA

  • The EPA will reconsider the Trump Administration’s decision not to update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone, last updated in 2015. A proposal is expected in April 2023. Click here.
  • EPA also intends to issue a proposed rule governing long-term emission standards for cars and light-duty trucks by March 2023. Click here.
  • Last Friday, EPA announced a proposal to require advance notice before manufacturers begin new uses for dozens of chemicals (“significant new use notice requirements”), giving the agency time to assess the health risks of the new uses. Click here.
  • A final rule adding at least a dozen chemicals to the Toxic Release Inventory, which requires industrial facilities to report how much of a chemical is released into the environment, is anticipated in November 2022. Click here.
  • The final rule amending water permitting requirements under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act— undoing the 2020 Trump-era rule which had significantly limited states, territories, and tribes’ ability to challenge infrastructure projects that impact water quality—is expected in March 2023. Click here.

FTC

  • The FTC will issue a proposed privacy rule this month to “curb lax security practices, limit privacy abuses, and ensure that algorithmic decision-making does not result in unlawful discrimination.” The comment period will close in August. Click here.

SEC

  • The SEC has several final rules expected over the next nine months, including the Commission’s new proxy voting advice rule (click here) and the hotly contested climate disclosure rule (click here), both anticipated in October 2022, as well as the final cybersecurity risk governance disclosure rule (click here), expected in April 2023.
  • Final rules implementing Dodd-Frank with regard to erroneously awarded compensation (click here), pay vs. performance (click here), and enhanced reporting on proxy and executive compensation votes (click here) are all due out in October 2022.
  • In the proposed rule stage are rules aimed at enhancing disclosures on human capital management (click here), expected in October 2022, and increasing diversity on corporate boards (click here), expected in April 2023.