Situational Awareness
After cancelling a vote on a defense spending bill last week amidst opposition from conservative Republicans, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will use this week to rally his Conference behind passing a short-term funding measure that would fund the government past the end of the fiscal year. If the House can pass a so-called Continuing Resolution (CR), it would give McCarthy additional breathing room to pass 12 individual spending bills. The House will also consider legislation expanding veterans’ benefits and a health care package promoting price transparency. The Senate will continue debate on a ‘minibus’ that consists of its Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD spending bills.
H-2 Modernization Proposed Rule
This morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen protections for H-2 program visa holders. The proposed rule would provide greater flexibility and protections for participating workers and aims to improve the efficiency of the program. Under the proposed regulations, employers who violate H-2B program requirements, including employers who fail to demonstrate an ability and intent to follow the program requirements, may be ineligible for the limited number of available visas. To improve program integrity and better protect vulnerable workers, the proposed rule would clarify prohibitions on employer-imposed fees. It also strengthens the prohibition on, and consequences of, such prohibited fees being collected by employers or recruiters at any time from H-2 workers, protecting workers from incurring exploitive debts and preventing abuse. Further, DHS is proposing greater flexibility for H-2 workers by extending grace periods for seeking new employment, preparing for departure from the United States, or seeking a change of immigration status, which will provide increased clarity and worker flexibility, mobility, and protections. This rulemaking would also offer several benefits to employers, including making H-2 portability permanent, which would allow employers who are facing worker shortages to hire H-2 workers who are already lawfully in the United States while the employer’s H-2 petition for the worker is pending. The regulated community has 60 days to provide comment to the agency.
Outdoor Recreation
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 3107, the Improving Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act, which would establish the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation. Under H.R. 3107, the Council would be responsible for engaging with private, public, and non-profit organizations to facilitate and enhance management of outdoor recreational lands and waters. The Subcommittee will also consider H.R. 3200, the Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act. The legislation would require federal public land management agencies, such as the Department of Interior, to collaborate with local stakeholders in gateway communities to address their economic needs (i.e. housing, infrastructure) related to increasing visitation to recreational lands.
Water Management
On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing to examine the impacts of droughts on public water availability. Historic droughts in the West and multi-state disputes over the management of shared public water sources have led lawmakers to draft legislation to bolster resiliency and improve infrastructure. In June, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation that would create funding grants for water recycling projects and authorize funding for water and conservation projects that support disadvantaged communities. The legislation would bolster recent drought resiliency funding announced by the Department of the Interior to develop projects that can increase water management flexibility.
EPA Final Rule on Clean Water Act Section 401
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act prevents federal agencies from conducting activity that could discharge into a “water of the United States” unless a state issues a water quality certification. The final rule emphasizes that states can only consider the adverse water quality-impacts from the proposed federal agency activity.
DOL and EEOC Memorandum of Understanding
Last week, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate through data sharing and to enforce major employment laws, including the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The MOU specifically mentions data sharing of unlawful compensation practices, including overtime pay, as well as misclassification of employees as independent contractors. As the DOL prepares to finalize its updated overtime and independent contractor rules, enforcement officials will have to expand their resources to bring employers into compliance with a significant overhaul of current labor laws.