Political appointees to various federal agencies by President Trump are poised to roll back regulations imposed by former President Obama that were viewed as favorable to labor unions, a long-time benefactor for Democrats.
Specifically, as the Washington Examiner reported, appointees at the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement entity, and the Labor Department are close to finishing a set of new rules that will undo pro-union regs.
The DOL and NLRB will likely issue rules limiting corporate “joint employer” legal liability for workplace violations. Also, the NLRB will limit union access to workplaces, while the Labor Dept. will scale back Obama-era judiciary rules making investment advisers more legally liable.
“The rule-making is expected to formalize a board decision in a September case called Kroger v. United Food and Commercial Workers,” the website reported.
“The board said that a company was within its rights to bar protest activity by a union representative from its parking lot, even though the protester was an official with the union that represented its workers. Only a union member who was also an employee had the right to be on the property,’ it added.
A rewrite of the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule is also expected.
Last year a federal court tossed the Obama administration’s version, which would require all advisers who manage tax-privileged retirement accounts to act in their client’s best interests.
The federal court ruled that the Obama administration exceeded its authority in issuing the requirement.
Now, the Trump administration is preparing its own version, which is being prepared by Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who was the top Chamber of Commerce lawyer in the successful court challenge of the Obama fiduciary rule.