'Snurlough' (Beltway Buzz - January 18, 2019)

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.

"Snurlough." Today is day 28 of the partial government shutdown. A bigger-than-expected snowstorm that hit the D.C. region this past weekend led to a Monday in which the federal government was both closed and (partially) shut down—a " Snurlough." As the Buzz has reported in the last few weeks, there is no end in sight for the longest government shutdown in history. Indeed, earlier this week, an effort to reopen the government pursuant to a fast-track legislative process in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to garner the necessary votes.

OT Proposal on Schedule? The Department of Labor (DOL) sent its long-awaited proposed changes to its Section 541 regulations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Could this mean that the DOL is actually on track to issue the proposal in March 2019, as forecast in the most recent regulatory agenda? Possibly. Of course, at least some OIRA staffers are likely furloughed, which could impact the timing of the review. It is important to remember that we are still talking about a proposed regulation—not a final regulation—so the overtime rulemaking still has a long way to go. Alfred B. Robinson, Jr. has the details.

H-1B Preregistration Rule Advances. Late last week, and just days after the public comment period closed, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent its H-1B preregistration rule to OIRA. Unlike the overtime proposal described above, in this case, OIRA review is the last stop before the rule is finalized. The speed at which the regulation has gone from proposal to arriving at OIRA is perhaps indicative of the agency's effort to meet Director L. Francis Cissna's goal of having this done in advance of the upcoming H-1B cap season.

Nominations Restart. When the U.S. Senate adjourned on January 3, 2019, to end the 115th Congress, all pending nominations expired. Consequently, on January 16, 2019, President Trump renominated dozens of individuals to vacant agency posts. Included are William I. Althen (to be a member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission), Janet Dhillon (to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Scott A. Mugno (to be assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and Cheryl Stanton (to be administrator...