From Bloomberg Law, Paige Smith, Ben Penn, Genevieve Douglas, and Robert Iafolla report that President Biden’s chief of staff has issued a memo stopping the advancement of regulations that aren’t final and effective. Paige, Ben, Genevieve and Robert write:
The Biden administration’s move to freeze pending Trump-era regulations halted a high-stakes Labor Department rule that would make it easier for businesses to designate their workers as independent contractors, and forces other federal workplace agencies to address rules that didn’t take effect before Inauguration Day.
The order, signed by President Joe Biden’s chief of staff on Jan. 20, immediately bars further advancement of rules that hadn’t been published in the Federal Register. A Biden-designated agency head must review or approve the rule before it can move on. Any rules sent for publication in the Federal Register also must be pulled back.
Biden also put the brakes on rules that published in the Federal Register but had not yet gone into effect. That includes the DOL’s independent contractor rule previously slated to take effect March 8, which would have far-reaching effects in the gig economy and other industry sectors. A newly finalized rule from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is also at the same stage.
The order advises agencies to “consider postponing the rules’ effective dates for 60 days” from Jan. 20, and to assess whether to open a 30-day public comment period on any delayed rules…
Read the full story at DOL, Independent Agency Regulations Frozen by Biden Memo
