The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its latest Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, a semiannual report that details the Trump administration’s planned regulatory changes. The agenda includes nearly 150 proposals aimed at reducing burdens on businesses and workers, aligning with the administration’s goal to prioritize American jobs and economic growth.
Key proposals from the DOL’s agenda include:
- Employee and independent contractor classification: Reviewing the criteria used to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under federal wage and hour laws.
- Joint employer status: Examining the conditions under which a business can be held liable as a joint employer.
- Overtime and minimum wage exemptions: Considering updates to the salary thresholds for certain employees to be exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
- Retirement plan investments: Scrutinizing the role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plan investment decisions by fiduciaries.
- Transparency in healthcare costs: Proposing new rules to improve transparency around the fees collected by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and to provide consumers with clearer pricing information for medical services.
- H-2A agricultural worker program: Rescinding certain requirements for employers who use the H-2A program for temporary agricultural workers.
- Heat injury and illness prevention: Continuing to explore the development of new standards to prevent heat-related injuries and illnesses for workers in indoor and outdoor settings.