Congress Approves $8.3 Billion Coronavirus Emergency Funding. The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) is headed for the President’s desk. Among other things, the bill contains appropriations for loans to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. For a wide variety of up-to-date guidance related to the outbreak, see Seyfarth’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) page.
And Then There Were Three. Earlier this week, members of Seyfarth’s Future Enterprise team prepared an analysis of the remaining five Democratic candidates’ positions regarding employee training and investment. Since then, the field has narrowed to three after the end of the campaigns of Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Nevertheless, for a look at the candidates’ (including President Trump's) approaches to apprenticeships and STEM education (among other issues), take a look at Seyfarth’s Employment Law Lookout blog.
Nominations Moving Ahead. As expected, the White House announced this week the President’s intent to nominate a number of individuals to serve on the NLRB and the EEOC. Current Member Marvin Kaplan will again be nominated for a Republican seat on the NLRB; former Member Lauren McFerran will be nominated for one of the two vacant Democratic seats. At the EEOC, Jocelyn Samuels will be nominated for a Democratic slot and Andrea Lucas will get the nod for a Republican seat. Wage & Hour Division Deputy Administrator Keith Sonderling, who was nominated for a Republican seat on the EEOC in the last session of Congress, but whose nomination was returned when that Congress adjourned, is expected to be renominated. (Renominations do not typically get a “new” intent to nominate.) The Senate HELP Committee is gearing up for hearings. Stay tuned.
Paid Sick Leave on the House Agenda. No doubt spurred on by the coronavirus outbreak, a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor has announced a hearing on “The Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1784): Examining a Plan to Secure Paid Sick Leave for U.S. Workers.” The hearing will be next Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Witnesses have not yet been announced.
The NLRB Gets Its Day on the Hill. Next week, the House Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriation subcommittee will have an opportunity to hear from the National Labor Relations Board Chair and General Counsel. The hearing ostensibly addresses the NLRB’s budget request for FY2021, but we can expect a spirited discussion covering a wide range of labor policy issues.
