Get ready for more workplace oversight with respect to federal labor laws, as a half-trillion-dollar spending bill making its way through Congress will give regulatory agencies more resources to follow up on complaints and pursue cases.

It’s important to remember that labor and employment laws mean very little in the absence of enforcement.

The $447 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3288) determines who gets how much federal money, as discussed by the Daily Journal of commerce. The 2010 bill allocates $13.3 billion to the Dept. of Labor (including $1.6 billion for worker safety initiatives), $367 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and $238.4 to the National Labor Relations Board.

What does that mean for the average small business owner? Those three agencies enforce a wide variety of federal labor laws, from wage and hour disputes to discrimination to collective bargaining:

  • Dept. of Labor: More than 180 federal laws are enforced by this agency, which oversees the Wage and Hour Division, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and others. Most workplace disputes, unless they’re handled in state court or through the EEOC, involve the DOL.
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: The EEOC enforces laws that concerned protected classes of people, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, The Equal Pay Act, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Virtually all workplace discrimination claims are handled by the EEOC.
  • National Labor Relations Board: NLRB deals exclusively with the relationship between labor unions and management. It enforces the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.

While appropriations bills rarely get the attention afforded to new workplace laws, federal labor laws only really exist when they’re enforced. The DOL’s plan to hire 600 new full-time enforcement and compliance employees should serve as a fair warning of increased small business regulation.

Related Resources:

  • Federal Employment and Labor Laws (Business.gov)
  • Increased Enforcement of Labor Laws a Top Priority for Obama Administration (HR Hero)
  • Workplace Poster Requirements for Small Businesses and Other Employers (US Dept. of Labor)
  • Employment Law Overview (provided by Miller Cohen PLC)
  • Wages & Overtime Basics (provided by Litt, Estuar, Harrison & Kitson, LLP)

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