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PAGE 10 / NATIONAL CLOTHESLINE / DECEMBER, 2020

KEEP IT LEGAL BY FRANK KOLLMAN

New labor regulations may be coming

s I write this, it is one fore I did. I ran into him at a tensible because the law of un- forcement will have a direct im- of minimum wages and over-
week after the national field hockey camp where we intended consequences fre- pact on employers. Covid re- time, who is responsible for
Aelection, and it appears were both registering our quently results in so-called strictions on a national level wage and hour violations, and
that Joe Biden will be sworn in daughters in the 1990s, and we pro-employee changes for jobs could come out in the form of the applicability of laws to in-
as President in January. Fur- chatted for about 20 minutes. that, because of the change, no Department of Labor work- dependent contractors the
thermore, we will not know We sort of lost touch after that, longer exist. Without the em- place safety regulations, and Labor Department deems to be
whether the Senate will remain so to speak. Whether President- ployer, there are no employees. Biden campaigned on Covid as employees. If you are using in-
in control of the Republicans Elect Biden faces a split Con- Whoever is selected to be much as any issue. Expect dependent contractors, now
until January when the two gress or not, he will have the secretary of labor will have a OSHA regulations giving em- would be a good time to re-
Georgia runoff elections take authority to change the direc- huge effect on policy. The De- ployees more rights to decide think that strategy. No change

place. Although its origin as a tion and composition of many partment of Labor is responsi- when and how they want to in the law is necessary to
“Chinese curse” is subject to federal agencies that deal with ble for OSHA, wage and hour work. Even if inspections do change interpretation and en-
question, “may you live in in- employment matters. Any pro- matters, benefit plan adminis- not increase, employees will be forcement strategy. The federal
teresting times” is the curse we employer changes put in place tration, and the Office of Con- able to file OSHA complaints courts will be just as busy re-
live under today. by the previous administration tract Compliance Programs, related to Covid and other viewing new regulations and
As a quick aside, Joe Biden will be quickly set aside, and where affirmative action pro- safety items. The country can orders as they were under the
attended Syracuse University many ostensible pro-worker grams are reviewed. Changes also expect more enforcement Trump administration.
College of Law nine years be- regulations will follow. I say os- in OSHA regulations and en- of regulations on the payment There is no question that

once there are openings on the
National Labor Relations

Board, the appointments will
be pro-union members who be-
lieve that all workplaces should
be unionized. I will leave it to
the reader to decide if pro-
union is the same as pro-em-
ployee. See unintended
consequences mentioned
above. Moreover, the Obama
NLRB enacted regulations and
issued decisions making it
more difficult to discipline em-
ployees for anti-employer state-
ments and behaviors that could
hurt the business.
Equal employment oppor-
tunity laws will likely be ex-
panded to provide rights to

more people. The Family and
Medical Leave Act, which pro-
vides unpaid leave rights to
employees in mid-sized and
larger companies, will likely be
a focus. There will be pressure
to expand the coverage to
smaller companies.
Race will undoubtedly be a
major focus again in enforce-
ment policies. Recently, disabil-

ity discrimination has been the
bigger issue, but race discrimi-
nation (and national origin dis-
crimination) claims will likely
see a surge. Unemployment
benefits will be subject to mod-
ification, and it is likely that the
Biden Administration will
favor paying people for not
working more than the prior
administration. Temporary
changes made as pandemic re-
sponses could become perma-
nent.While it could take some
time for these changes to take
effect, four years is a long time.
Be prepared for more enforce-
ment, more rules, and more in-
terference in how you run your
business. Hoping for modera-
tion will not prepare you for a
KEEP YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY shift toward employees and
against employers. Remember,
it’s the hope that kills you.
We’ve found over $4 billion to o昀set the cost Frank Kollman is a partner in the
of environmental contamina琀on, and that’s law firm of Kollman & Saucier,
Turning environmental why our clients keep their cash. Find out how PA, in Baltimore, MD. He can be
liabili琀es into assets reached by phone at (410) 727-
you can protect your nest egg. Call us today! 4300 or fax (410) 727-4391. His
firm’s web site can be found at
www.kollmanlaw.com. It has ar-
866-888-7911 enviroforensics.com
ticles, sample policies, news and
other information on em-
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ployee/employer relations.