AWFS is a client of LobbyIt. Each month, LobbyIt prepares the following report on public policy updates and activity for AWFS and its member companies.
AWFS Monthly Report
Greetings!
In the month of June, we monitored developments regarding the Perkins Reauthorization bill in the Senate and sought to build additional relationships that will be beneficial for AWFS.
Advocacy Update
The beginning of the month saw Republicans in Congress taking a poll to determine what their fall agenda should look like. The expectation being that they were on track to have available time in the legislative calendar to pursue some priorities. However, throughout the month it quickly became clear that this is not the case.
Quite possibly the biggest earthquake came near the end of the month with Justice Kennedy’s retirement. This has mobilized the Republican and Democratic base and promised that the coming months will be full of fireworks. Democrats are going to try every trick in the parliamentary book to delay a vote on the nominee and this means that we can anticipate only the highest priority and must-pass bills will get votes.
There was also chatter regarding a new Obamacare repeal plan that is spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation. However, this plan does not seem to have the support necessary to see the light of day. Particularly because they don’t have the ability to pass a repeal through reconciliation with a simple majority of the vote, meaning they will need Democratic support for anything proposed.
Additional details have also come out about a tax cut 2.0 package that Congress, led by Representative Brady (R-TX), is currently hashing out. These would include multiple mini packages that would seek to get ‘home run’ issues before Republicans. Issues that every member of the caucus could vote for. Among the list of issues is education and making tax extenders permanent.
We worked to further increase our contacts during the month of June. We spoke with Nancy Martinez in Sen. Young’s office regarding the Senator’s priorities regarding CTE and what her anticipation was regarding the Perkins bill, which hadn’t been made public at that point. We had a great conversation and she will be a good partner going forward.
Additionally, we spoke with Rep. Thompson’s office regarding the bill and whether they anticipated that they would be supporting the bill when it went to conference to hammer out any differences. At that point, the bill wasn’t released yet either so we will be following up with her. Additionally, we are monitoring a new bill introduced in the Senate, the Skills Investment Act of 2018. The bill would improve Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, allowing the funds to be used to pay for skills training, career-related learning, and professional development. We will work with the AWFS team to determine if and when we will engage Congress on the bill.
Legislative & Regulatory Highlights
Apprenticeship Update
The Administration has completed its initial taskforce report on how to increase the number of apprenticeships available in the US. However, the report does not include a lot of details as to next steps nor funding for implementation. It also doesn’t make any meaningful changes to sectors with existing apprenticeships but rather focuses on industry without well-established apprenticeship programs.
The biggest hurdle left untouched is funding. The problem is that even for registered apprenticeship programs funding isn’t guaranteed. This means that an organization can jump through all the hoops necessary to become a registered apprenticeship and yet not receive sufficient funding. The report also doesn’t identify ways that the federal government can make a stronger case for apprenticeships to corporate employers. There are only a handful of American employers that have launched modern apprenticeship programs, with the exception of German and Swiss subsidiaries. In other countries, apprenticeships are sold by intermediaries that establish, manage, and deliver apprenticeship programs on behalf of employers. The governments of those countries incentivize the growth of these intermediaries.
States Hardest Hit by Trump Tariffs
The US business lobby has mapped out the economic impact of tariffs by state. The tip of the spear being the US Chamber of Commerce who is leading the fight against the administration’s trade policy. The administration has announced levies on steel and aluminum imports and $34 billion of Chinese goods went into effect this past Friday.
The tariffs have sparked pushback with retaliatory tariffs by Canada, Mexico, the EU, and China. The states with the highest impact from these retaliatory tariffs are (in order from greatest to lowest) Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Texas tops the list at almost $4 billion in exports that have been targeted.
The escalating trade war shows no sign of slowing down or fizzling out. Ultimately, the long-term impact remains to be seen and will depend greatly on whether Trump or some other country (particularly China) blinks first.
Some Employers Using E-Verify Despite Risk
Some employers in industries that experience a high risk of documentation enforcement – such as agriculture, construction, landscaping, and hospitality – decided to enroll in E-Verify to go the extra step on compliance.
However, many of those companies have been audited and fined anyway, some being forced to fire up to a quarter of their workforce due to lack of documentation. These employers feel they should get some sort of relief because they’ve tried to do the right thing by being good corporate citizens with their involvement in the E-Verify program.
Because of this and the general lack of an adequate labor supply, companies and organizations, like the American Farm Bureau Federation, would support mandatory E-Verify only if Congress would provide legal status for some segments of the undocumented workforce and a workable guest worker program. Unfortunately, it does not seem that any immigration deal will be struck this year.
Surprise Plan for Calculating Overtime on Labor Dept. Agenda
In a surprise announcement, the Labor Department announced that it intends to revise the law governing time-and-a-half overtime calculations.
DOL will “clarify, update, and define regular rate requirements”. The announcement was ambiguous and means that multiple changes are possible. The Department could modify the workweek overtime calculations or amend how bonuses and commissions are treated when determining time-and-a-half wages.
One option is that they could add categories of compensation that are excluded from the regular rate, something that hasn’t been done in decades.
The Department estimates that the proposed rule could be announced as early as September.
Until next month,
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