President Trump recently delivered his third proposed annual budget to Congress, containing the Administration’s recommendations for funding the federal government in the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2020), which runs from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020.
The FY 2020 budget request once again calls for the creation of a paid parental leave program to be funded through the unemployment insurance system, and proposes making the E-Verify system for verifying employment eligibility mandatory for all employers, though Congress has thus far declined to act on either of these requested policy changes.
With respect to funding key workplace enforcement agencies, the President’s budget actually proposes a very modest $100,000 increase for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and a 1.6 percent increase for DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). In contrast, the proposal would slash funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by 6.2 percent and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by 11.9 percent.
Please keep in mind that the President’s annual budget request should be viewed as more aspirational than practical. In the end, it is Congress – not the Administration – that decides on final funding numbers, as well as any proposed policy changes. Accordingly, there are likely to be significant changes to what the President has requested at the end of the day.
The President’s FY 2020 budget and supporting materials are available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.