White House Asks Congress to Boost Enforcement, Raise Employers' Unemployment Contributions
Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor
February 5, 2015
Greater enforcement of federal employment laws, increased unemployment insurance contributions and other changes will be in store for employers if the White House gets its way in this year's budget process.
In its recently released fiscal year 2016 budget, the Obama administration is seeking increases for several agencies, including:
- $50 million for the Wage and Hour Division to hire 300 more full-time investigators "dedicated to active - as opposed to reactive - enforcement" of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and other employment laws;
- $19 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration to fully implement and enforce new rules on coal dust exposure and to strengthen its other targeted enforcement activities;
- $8.6 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce employment discrimination laws like the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and others; and
- $3.4 million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enforce more than 20 workplace whistleblower laws.
The White House also is seeking to raise the amount of employee earnings that are subject to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) from $7,000 to $40,000.
It is unlikely that Congress will grant even a fraction of what the administration is requesting. For example, the WHD's budget was increased by only $3 million last year, far less than the $41 million the White House had sought.
Nevertheless, the budget provides an important opening in negotiations and serves as a useful guide to the administration's priorities.