House And Senate Appropriations Committees Approve Funding Bills With Riders Targeting DOL, NLRB Initiatives

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees advanced bills this week to fund various federal agencies for FY 2016. Each chamber approved versions of spending measures that include riders prohibiting funding for a variety of the administration's regulatory initiatives.

On June 25, the full Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-14 in favor of legislation to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Senate committee consideration came a day after the full House Appropriations Committee held its markup session of an analogous funding measure.

During Wednesday's markup session, the Committee approved by voice vote an amendment offered by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) that would effectively block the National Labor Relations Board from recognizing so-called "micro" bargaining units in the wake of the 2011 Specialty Healthcare decision, which changed the standard for determining the appropriateness of bargaining units. Under the new standard, if a union's petitioned-for unit includes a clearly identifiable group of employees, the Board is to presume the unit is appropriate. In order to include additional employees, an employer must now show that the additional group shares an "overwhelming" community of interest with those in the petitioned-for unit. The looser standard for certifying units has made it easier for unions to organize smaller factions of the workforce. During the markup session, Rep. Harris claimed the NLRB decision has resulted in a "fracturing" of the workforce. The Senate appropriations bill approved on Thursday contains a similar limitation.

As previously discussed, the House spending bill also contains riders that would prevent any funds from being used to, among other things, pursue a change in the definition of "fiduciary" under ERISA, alter the test for...