Situational Awareness
The House and Senate are not in session this week, but House committees will be conducting business.
H-2B Cap Relief In House Appropriations Bill
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security funding bill, which included language aimed at improving the H-2B visa program. Specifically, the bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue guidance within 60 days of the enactment of the appropriations bill that would allow for an increase in the number of visas issued by no more than the highest number of H-2B nonimmigrants who participated in the H-2B returning worker program in any year in which returning workers were exempt from the numerical limitation. In the course of debate over the H-2B program, a bipartisan group of Representatives and stakeholders agreed to attempt to negotiate permanent solutions for the program. The bill also contains provisions to increase funding for processing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. NCA will continue to work with allies to address shortcomings in the H-2B program.
NCA Signs Comments on OSHA Recordkeeping Proposed Rule
The comment period for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed rule “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” ends June 30 and NCA has signed on with the Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS) comment letter. OSHA indicated it plans to release a final rule in December 2022. The comments letter raises objections to the proposed rule due to concerns about duplicative reporting and recordkeeping, the public disclosure of sensitive business and individual worker information. The letter also points out that smaller entities are particularly vulnerable to release of sensitive information, where mischaracterization of raw data can irreparably harm their business and employee information may be more easily ascertained. You can read the draft letter here.
Spring Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions Released
While Congress tends to get the headlines, NCA has largely been focused on the increase in the number of regulations coming from the Biden administration, which is where we see more potential for significant developments that could affect club operations. The Biden administration recently released its bi-annual regulatory agenda, which maps out expected actions to be taken by all federal agencies and potential timelines for those actions. The regulatory agenda includes many items NCA has tracked and commented on, such as the injury and illness proposed rule mentioned earlier as well as lock-out-tag-out updates. While NCA has been tracking developments on a potential heat standard proposed rule, no specific dates were provided by OSHA for such an action. NCA will comb through the regulatory agenda for any actions by agencies such as OSHA, Department of Labor, Wage and Hour, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Treasury that may have an effect on the private club community. You can access the regulatory agenda here.