President Trump this week delivered his much-anticipated proposed first budget, which would fund the federal government for fiscal year (FY) 2018 (October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018). Although the budget is light on many details, it does contain several provisions that if implemented would have a major impact on employers’ current compliance obligations, including a proposal to merge the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) into the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by the end of FY 2018.
The proposed budget also calls for the creation of a program to provide paid parental leave to be funded through the unemployment insurance system, and proposes making the E-Verify system for verifying employment eligibility mandatory for all employers.
With respect to funding for key enforcement agencies, the proposed budget would cut OFCCP’s budget by a whopping 15 percent, and the budget of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by a significant 6 percent. The EEOC would receive flat funding. DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act and minimum wage and overtime requirements, would actually get a modest budget increase.
Please keep in mind that submission to Congress of the administration’s FY 2018 budget request is only the first step in a protracted process ultimately leading to final funding decisions to keep the government running next year. The president’s budget requests are rarely if ever adopted as proposed, and inevitably there are likely to be substantial changes to the provisions we have flagged above.
The president’s FY 2018 budget and supporting materials are available here.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.