Outlook 2003 (labor and employment agenda)

A special report issued at the end of January by the Bureau of National Affairs outlined the labor and employment agenda for the upcoming year. It notes that the U.S. Supreme Court’s doc-ket includes ten employment-related cases, including two in the affirmative action arena, four involving employment discrimination, and two actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 108th Congress will focus on some unfinished business from 2002, and is also expected to zero in on the president’s new economic growth plan which includes $3.6 billion in re-employment funds, as well as greater security for participants in 401(k)-style pension plans.

A sluggish economy is bringing labor and management together at the bargaining table to seek new solutions to escalating health care costs. In the airline industry, collective bargaining talks will center on reductions in pay and benefit levels as sweeping cost-cutting efforts and, in some cases, bankruptcy restructuring, are the result of two straight years of record revenue losses.

The National Labor Relations Board begins 2003 with a full five-member board for the first time in more than two years, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as the country’s chief civil rights enforcement agency, is looking toward the expanded use of alternative dispute resolution. Although facing potential budget cuts, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to tackle emergency response issues.

Outreach efforts by the Labor Depart-ment’s Office of Federal Contract Com-pliance Programs will be increased, with larger employers being the target for compliance reviews. The DOL Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration expects to continue its policies of tough enforcement and compliance assistance in 2003, and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao plans to continue the push to “modernize her agency’s myriad regulations to ensure their application to the current workforce is appropriate.”