Inspector General to Audit Labor Department's Rulemaking Process for Controversial Child Labor Policy, at Request of Warren and Scott
Text of Labor Inspector General's Letter (PDF)
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace
Safety, and Representative Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Chairman of the House Education
and Labor Committee, have received word that the Department of Labor (DOL)
Office of Inspector General (IG) will incorporate a review of the DOL's
proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds working in nursing homes and hospitals
to operate power-driven patient lifts without the presence of an adult into its
review of DOL's rulemaking processes. The audit comes in response to a letter
Senator Warren and Chairman Scott sent on January 7th, 2019, raising concerns
that DOL deviated from agency regulatory and data quality requirements when it
proposed the rule relaxing child labor standards in healthcare fields.
Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and Lucille
Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) also joined the letter.
DOL policy prohibits workers under 18 years of age from operating or assisting
in the operation of several types of hoisting apparatus for nursing home and
hospital patients without supervision. On September 27, 2018, DOL proposed a
rule to overturn this policy, a move that would in effect allow young workers
to perform potentially dangerous work alone. The lawmakers found that DOL not
only failed to disclose the evidentiary basis for the new rule, as required,
but also failed to answer questions from Congress about whether DOL rulemaking
incorporated reliable, accurate data.
In addition to agreeing to audit this specific rulemaking, the DOL IG told
Senator Warren and Chairman Scott that the faulty rulemaking will be
incorporated in the Department's ongoing, broader review of its rulemaking
processes. That broader review also includes DOL's early 2018 proposal that would
have allowed employers to take employees' tips. After DOL issued that proposal,
reports surfaced that Trump administration officials hid an internal analysis
that showed the proposal would cost workers billions of dollars. Senator Warren
and Chairman Scott sent
several oversight letters questioning the administration about this
decision.
"Inspector General Dahl's response is a welcome step toward ensuring that
the Department of Labor is truly acting in the interests of young workers in
hospitals and nursing homes," said Senator Warren.
"This is not the first time in recent memory that the Department has tried
to roll back workers' rights on the basis of questionable or hidden evidence,
so I am glad that the Inspector General is taking a broad look at the
Department's rulemaking processes as well."
"When an agency puts out a rule, it is required by law to demonstrate that
the rule is supported by evidence and that the rule's benefits justify its
costs. The Department of Labor's approach to the tip rule and the child labor
regulations raised serious questions about the Department of Labor's rulemaking
process. The Office of Inspector General's decision to do a broader review of
the Department's entire rule making process is an important step towards shedding
light on this approach and restoring workers' faith in the Department charged
with protecting their rights," said Chairman Scott.
Senator Warren has been fighting for government transparency and increased
public integrity across the federal government. Her Anti-Corruption
and Public Integrity Act would address the pattern of corporate interests
hijacking rulemaking processes at federal agencies and make sure that
rulemaking is conducted in the interest of all Americans.
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