The Biden administration has released details of its infrastructure proposal, the American Jobs Plan. While there has been a lot of emphasis on the proposed spending and corporate tax increases, the plan also includes provisions that would impact the workforce.

Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced dates when data collection will begin, and reports are due for the EEO-1 report, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program designed to protect workers in high-hazard industries from COVID-19, and the new secretary of labor has been confirmed.

Infrastructure Plan Includes Workforce Provisions

The roughly $2 trillion American Jobs Plan proposal developed by the Biden administration includes provisions that would encourage unionization, increase workplace rules, and promote investment in workforce development.

The proposal calls upon “Congress to ensure all workers have a free and fair choice to join a union by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and guarantee union and bargaining rights for public service workers.” A previous column provided more detail on the PRO Act. The PRO Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act, which applies to the private sector, to bar employers from retaliating against unionization efforts, protect the right of workers to strike, and override right-to-work laws in states that allow employees to choose not to pay union dues. The White House proposal also calls for an additional $10 billion investment to enforce these workforce proposals and requests tougher penalties for employer violations of safety and health rules. 

The White House fact sheet points out the need for skills development opportunities for workers. The plan requests $100 billion for workforce development programs aimed at underserved groups, as well as starting youth on career paths while they are in high school. The proposal would allocate $40 billion for a new Dislocated Workers Program to ensure comprehensive services for displaced workers to learn new skills and access career services. The emphasis would be on training workers for in-demand sectors, which the proposal cites as “clean energy, manufacturing, and caregiving.”

There would also be an investment in increasing apprenticeship programs, creating career pathway programs in middle school and high school, and “prioritizing increased access to computer science and high-quality career and technical programs that connect underrepresented students to STEM and in-demand sectors through partnerships with both institutions of higher education and employers.”

Congress has not begun its consideration of this proposal. There are certain to be changes as the proposal moves through Congress. The administration and congressional Democrats would like to see Congress vote on the proposal over the summer. Future columns will provide details.

EEO-1 Data Collection to Start on April 26

The EEOC announced that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection would begin on April 26. In May 2020, the EEOC delayed the EEO-1 data collection because of COVID-19. The deadline for the submission of the reports will be July 19. The usual data collection period is 10 weeks, but the EEOC has extended it to 12 weeks this year.

The EEO-1 collects workforce data from private sector employers with at least 100 employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees. The data reported includes the total number of full and part-time employees, their sex, race and ethnicity, and their job categories.

State and local governments with at least 100 employees need to complete the EEO-4 form, with the reporting period opening in October. Public elementary and secondary school districts with 100 or more employees need to complete the EEO-5 form, with the reporting period opening in July.

OSHA Announces National Emphasis Program

On March 12, OSHA announced it is implementing a national emphasis program to ensure that those working in high-hazard industries are protected from contracting COVID-19. The program resulted from an executive order issued Jan. 21 by President Joe Biden directing the secretary of labor to launch a national program to focus OSHA enforcement efforts related to COVID-19 on hazardous conditions that put the largest number of workers at serious risk, as well as on employers engaging in retaliation against employees who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions. The NEP goal will be accomplished through inspections, employer outreach and compliance assistance.

OSHA’s high-hazard industries include health care providers and facilities, animal processing plants, supermarkets, general warehouses and storage facilities, restaurants, and correctional institutions. To ensure that workers are protected from retaliation, OSHA inspectors will distribute anti-retaliation information and refer allegations of retaliation to the Whistleblower Protection Program.

Secretary of Labor Confirmed

Congress has confirmed the appointment of Marty Walsh, former mayor of Boston, as Secretary of Labor. Following his swearing-in, Walsh set out the following priorities for the Department of Labor:

• Ensuring all workers have fair pay, health care, unemployment benefits, safe workplaces, and a secure retirement.
• Ensuring equal access to good jobs.
• Ensuring workers have a seat at the table in shaping workplace conditions and policies.
• Bolstering career education and job training.
• Increasing access to mental health and substance use treatment.

Neil Reichenberg is the former executive director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. He is an attorney, a frequent writer and speaker on public policy and human resource issues, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University. For questions or additional information, contact Reichenberg at neilreichenberg@yahoo.com.