Today, in response to a federal court order that has been discussed here previously, the EEOC announced that, in mid-July, it would begin collecting the 2017 and 2018 Component 2 data (completed by September 30). Separately, employers must submit Component 1 data by May 31, 2019; the EEOC is tightening that deadline, having exchanged an automatic (upon request) 30-day extension for a 14-day extension. For more on the issue, see Seyfarth's Client Alert. We will continue to be deeply involved in evaluating these issues as further developments roll out; after several webinars on the practical aspects of implementing the Court's order, many compliance questions remain. Stay tuned for further information.
House Appropriators Propose $1.2 Billion Increase for
DOL. Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee
released its proposed Labor-HHS spending bill for FY2020. On the very next
day, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved the bill,
which would increase DOL's budget by 10% from current spending
levels, and ignores the Trump Administration's proposal to
cut the budget by an equivalent amount. The bill heads next
to the full committee.
Senate Labor-HHS Subcommittee Holds Hearing on DOL
Budget. Meanwhile, the Senate counterpart held a hearing on the Trump Administration's
FY2020 budget request for the Department of Labor, where the sole
witness was Secretary of Labor Acosta. Whether
House and Senate appropriators can reach an agreement on the Labor
Department's — or any other Department's
—budget remains to be seen.
Acosta Testifies at House Education & Labor Committee
Hearing. Before venturing to the Senate side of the Hill,
Secretary Acosta spent the better part of a day answering questions
in a sometimes contentious hearing at the House Education &
Labor Committee. The five-plus hour (including recess) hearing covered the waterfront of the
Department's regulatory and enforcement initiatives and
priorities, as well as provided an opportunity for Secretary Acosta
to explain that the Administration does not currently support a
change to the federal minimum wage.
Equality Act Passes House Judiciary. As expected,
the Equality Act (H.R. 5) passed the House Judiciary Committee,
with the vote breaking along party lines. As a reminder, the
Equality Act , would amend existing civil rights laws to extend
antidiscrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans in a wide variety
of contexts. Passage continues to be expected in the House; the
bill's future in the Senate remains uncertain.
Equal Rights Amendment Back in House Judiciary.
In a busy week — that was also expected to include a hearing
on the Mueller Report with Attorney General Barr — a House
Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment. A joint
resolution would remove the deadline from the preamble of the
original constitutional amendment that passed Congress in 1972,
leaving it one state shy of the 38 states needed for ratification
(and, more significantly, with no deadline to obtain that
ratification).
Hartongensis Confirmed to Head PBGC. Gordon
Hartogensis was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a 72-27 margin.
Hartogensis will now head the Pension Benefits Guaranty
Corporation. He is the second labor-related nominee to benefit from
the eased Senate rules surrounding nominations, joining Cheryl
Stanton, who this week officially took the helm
at the Wage & Hour Division.
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