September To Remember (Beltway Buzz - September 7, 2018)

The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what's happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.

September to Remember. Congress returned this week, and Capitol Hill policymakers are girding themselves for a busy month of September. Indeed, October 1—the start of the new fiscal year—looms large, so Congress will have just a few weeks to pass a spending package in order to avoid a government shutdown. October 1 is also the start of the Supreme Court's 2018 term, and Republicans will try fervently to get Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmed and seated in time for the first day of the term (more on this below). It's shaping up to be a frantic few weeks in D.C.

Last Week, This Week. There was no shortage of labor and employment policy news while the Buzz was on vacation last week. Of course, we want to make sure that our readers remain well informed, so here is a quick rundown of last week's labor policy highlights (or lowlights):

President Trump renominated Mark G. Pearce for a third term on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). While the business community strongly opposes the move for the reasons we've previously discussed, Pearce's nomination is supposedly part of a larger package deal in the Senate that would clear at least some of the current nominee logjam. At this time, there is no word on which nominees might be included in the package. Speaking of the NLRB, it extended until September 5, 2018, the deadline by which stakeholders must submit comments in Caesars Entertainment Corporation d/b/a Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. In Caesars, the Board has solicited public input on "whether the Board should adhere to, modify, or reject the legal standard set forth in Purple Communications, 361 NLRB 1050 (2014), regarding rules or policies governing the permissible uses of employer email systems." The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced an overhaul of its process for investigating compensation discrimination, as well as a new directive intended to ensure that federal contractors have complied with their annual affirmative action program requirements. The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the formation of the Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI) to "promote greater understanding of federal labor laws and regulations." The DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued six new opinion letters. The WHD also announced that it would...