Our friends at Littler Mendelson looked over Obama’s $3.8 trillion budget released Feb 1, and broke down some of the $14 billion headed to the Department of Labor, much of which is earmarked for the DOL’s labor and employment law enforcement efforts. Included were: • $25 million and 100 additional enforcement personnel to identify and penalize employers who improperly classify employees as independent contractors, • $1.7 billion (a $67 million increase) to the worker protection agencies for enforcement purposes, • OSHA will receive $573 million (up by $14 million) to cover 60 additional enforcement members to its staff, aiming to conduct 9% more inspections, and • The Employee Benefits Security Administration receives $7 million to hire more benefits advisors and research staff. Rather than gearing up to help American businesses find footing in a weak economy, sounds like the DOL is preparing to play its role in more union corporate campaigns, designed to put pressure on companies to sign neutrality agreements and allow card-check organizing.
