In a move reminiscent of David challenging Goliath, top Republican officials on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have thrown down the gauntlet, accusing the U.S Department of Labor of flouting a pivotal law.
This law, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, mandates agencies to gauge the repercussions of rulemaking on small businesses.
It’s as if a referee overlooked a foul in the heat of a game, altering the entire course of the match.
U.S Department of Labor: The Accusers and Their Claims
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (CA) have co-authored a charged letter to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, calling out the department’s alleged dereliction.
The duo’s central claim? That the Wage and Hour Division has sidestepped critical rulemaking protocols.
Their allegations are far from vacuous, backed by findings of “significant noncompliance” from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy—a watchdog that doesn’t bark without reason.
The Rulemaking Quagmire
Digging deeper into the proverbial rabbit hole, the letter spotlights four wage rules from the Biden era:
- An uplift in the minimum wage for federal contract workers.
- Adjustments to independent contractor statuses.
- Regulations surrounding tipped wages.
- The rejigging of prevailing wage calculations under the Davis-Bacon Act.
While some rules, like the ones about minimum wage and tipped wages, have been cemented but face legal challenges, others like the Davis-Bacon Act rule have freshly seen the light of day.
