The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn its appeal of the federal judge’s decision in Texas to vacate a rule that broadened the criteria for establishing a joint employment relationship to include indirect and unexercised control over job terms and conditions. The appeal, which the NLRB filed in May, was officially withdrawn on July 19. The standard for determining a joint employer relationship now reverts to the standard put in place in 2020, which held that a business is a joint employer of workers directly employed by another employer only if the two employers share or co-determine the workers’ essential terms and conditions of employment.
On March 8, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the NLRB’s “Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status” rule, stating it exceeded “the bounds of the common law” and that the NLRB “failed to reasonably address the disruptive impact” the new rule would have on various industries.
Published on October 26, 2023, the final rule aimed to replace the previous standard introduced during the Trump administration, which had protected companies from shared liability in unfair labor practices and union bargaining responsibilities since April 2020. The new rule would have considered employers joint employers if they had a role in determining key aspects of employment like scheduling, wages, and benefits.
Workforce Development Funding Bill Approved by House Committee
The House Appropriations Committee has advanced the bill to fund education and workforce development programs for the upcoming fiscal year (FY). The FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill was approved by the Committee along party lines with a vote of 31 to 25.
The $198.4 billion bill includes a $10 million increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant program over the FY24 enacted level, but it is $30 million below the amount included in President Biden’s budget request. This program is crucial for providing high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) for learners across America.
Despite the increase for Perkins, the bill also includes significant cuts to the Departments of Education and Labor, such as a 25 percent reduction in the Employment and Training Administration budget. The legislation eliminates funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Job Training, resulting in a $948 million cut from the FY24 level and the FY25 request, and removes all funding for the Women’s Bureau, including the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program. Additionally, the bill decreases funding for Registered Apprenticeships, providing $150 million, which is $135 million below the FY24 enacted level and $185 million below the President’s request.
The bill contains $2.2 billion for the Department of Education’s Career, Technical, and Adult Education programs, an increase of $5 million above the FY24 level and $82 million below the FY25 request. This includes a $5 million cut from FY24 enacted level for CTE National Programs, providing only $7.4 million. President Biden’s budget request included $64.4 million for CTE National Programs, including $57 million for the continuation of the competitive grant program “Career-Connected High Schools,” which awards funding supporting dual enrollment, work-based learning, industry-recognized credentials, and career counseling. The appropriations bill will now proceed to the House floor for consideration, with a vote scheduled for the week of July 29.
Final Rule Regulating Trichloroethylene Under Review
The final rule regulating trichloroethylene (TCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the White House for review. On July 18, 2024, the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the regulation titled “Trichloroethylene (TCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).” The typical review process takes about 90 days, but the duration may vary depending on the specific actions involved. EPA has indicated that it expects to issue the final rule in September 2024.
Under a proposal released in October 2023, the rule would effectively ban TCE by prohibiting the manufacture or import, processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE for all uses including as a solvent in industrial cleaning and degreasing.
The rule would phase out most uses of TCE within one year while a small set of critical uses would be subject to longer compliance timeframes and workplace controls. These uses include the use by Federal agencies in making rocket booster nozzles, battery separator manufacturing, and the “critical” degreasing of military vehicles.
For the limited continued use, the rule would require a workplace chemical protection program (WCPP) including inhalation exposure monitoring and limits, dermal protection, recordkeeping, and downstream notification requirements.
The TCE rule continues EPA’s rulemaking actions under TSCA for halogenated solvents, joining methylene chloride, perchloroethylene (PCE), and carbon tetrachloride (CTC). A final methylene chloride rule was published in May, while final rules for PCE and CTC are expected to be released in August.
Emissions Study Bill Introduced in the House
Legislators in the House have introduced a bill mandating that the Administration study the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of various U.S.-produced products, including steel, iron, and aluminum articles.
This bill, known as the Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency Act (H.R. 8957), was introduced in the House on July 9, 2024, by Representatives John Curtis (R-UT-03) and Scott Peters (D-CA-50). It complements a similar measure introduced in the Senate by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE), which was approved by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the bill in January by a vote of 14-5.
The bipartisan bill instructs the Department of Energy to evaluate the average emissions of “covered products” produced in the U.S. and compare these figures with emissions from the same products produced in foreign countries, including G7 nations, U.S. free trade agreement partners, foreign countries of concern, countries holding a significant global market share of a covered product, and any country deemed by the Secretary of Commerce as a significant producer or exporter of at least one category of covered products.
Covered products under the bill include: aluminum, articles of aluminum, articles of cement, articles of iron and steel, articles of plastic, biofuels, cement, crude oil, fertilizer, glass, hydrogen, iron and steel, lithium-ion batteries, natural gas, petrochemicals, plastics, pulp and paper, refined strategic and critical minerals, refined petroleum products, solar cells and panels, uranium, and wind turbines.