Labor Department in Time Crunch to Finish Big-Ticket Regulations

Labor and employment attorney Timothy Taylor was quoted in an article by Bloomberg Law about the U.S. Department of Labor facing a time crunch to complete some of its highest-profile labor policy changes, including updating prevailing wage rates, outlining independent contractor status and setting when salaried workers are due overtime pay. With legal challenges expected to slow down the regulatory process, completing the rules before the 2024 election is a challenge. Any completed rules could be at risk of being blocked by the Congressional Review Act or invalidated by a new administration if not finalized by early next year. However, according to Mr. Taylor, the current administration still has enough time to finalize the rules. He said the rulemaking process should only take a year or two, which will give the government time to defend a rule in court. The limiting factor would be its ability to defend the bills if there is a change of administration. 

"If you think of the lifecycle of a regulation from chrysalis to butterfly, actually publishing a final rule isn’t really the end of it. And so if you can get your rule done within a year or two, that gives you a good long time in court to defend the rule, all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary," he said.

READ: Labor Department in Time Crunch to Finish Big-Ticket Regulations