News: EEOC brushes up against budget brink

Monday, August 5, 2024

EEOC brushes up against budget brink

Aug 05, 2024

QUICK FIX

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found itself in a bind that may require congressional intervention.

Chair Charlotte Burrows last week issued a memo to staff notifying them of plans to institute a one-day furlough for “all employees” on Aug. 30 in the face of a budgetary shortfall.

In her message Burrows said the EEOC had done what it could to cut back in other areas, such as employee travel and training costs while limiting hiring and delaying other expenditures like “office moves and refurbishments.”

Burrow’s memo left open the possibility that furloughs could ultimately be averted, or at least reduced to four rather than eight hours. The EEOC estimates that its payroll runs about $1 million per day.

The Friday before Labor Day is not exactly known as the most productive work day to begin with, but forcing staffers to not work is a drastic move scarcely seen outside of full-on government shutdowns.

“The people it hurts the most are the entry-level EEOC employees,” said Janet Dhillon, who chaired the commission from May 2019 to January 2021. “They make the least and losing a day of pay is losing a day of pay.”

Even a one-day hiatus has knock-on effects as meetings have to be rescheduled and staffers spend time preparing to close up shop and then get things back to normal afterwards.

Lawmakers’ decision to freeze the EEOC’s budget for the current fiscal year, slated to end Sept. 30, at FY23 levels was cited by both Burrows and the union representing agency employees as contributing to the crunch.

“EEOC has been underfunded and understaffed for decades – and now with Congress freezing the agency's budget at last year's level, we are seeing this unfortunate result,” American Federation of Government Employees Council 216 President Rachel Shonfield said in a statement. “AFGE is calling on Congress to provide the agency with the resources it needs to fund its operations and provide the public with the services they deserve.”

The White House earlier this year asked to raise the EEOC’s budget from $455 million to $488.2 million, a figure that landed in Senate appropriators’ blueprint. The House however proposed cutting funding back to fiscal 2022 levels — or $420 million.

Furlough talk can be a powerful warning to Congress, as the National Labor Relations Board demonstrated in late 2022. But with lawmakers not expected to pass a funding deal before Election Day, the EEOC is likely to remain in limbo for several months.

An EEOC spokesperson declined to say whether a continuing resolution would prompt additional furloughs, telling POLITICO it wouldn’t speculate on FY25 funding but that the agency does not anticipate any more notices this fiscal year.

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AROUND THE AGENCIES

GETTING THE MARSHALS INVOLVED: The National Labor Relations Board successfully petitioned a federal judge in Delaware to issue an arrest warrant Friday for the owner of a construction company who has failed to respond to a subpoena tied to a union dispute.

Judge Richard Andrews found George Brunson of New World Construction in contempt after he failed to appear before the court and directed the company to pay the NLRB nearly $40,000 to cover fees and the agency’s legal costs.

It is a relatively rare move for the NLRB, though last year it did go after the owners of a combo spa and salon who had ignored one of its orders.

The company did not return an email seeking comment on Friday.

More agency news: “Watchdog blasts FDIC for failures in addressing employee sexual harassment,” from our Michael Stratford.

ELECTION 2024

GIG HOPPING: Kamala Harris’ brother-in-law is taking a leave from being Uber’s chief legal officer to assist her presidential campaign, The New York Times reports.

Tony West helped recommend Eric Holder, who’s leading the V.P. vetting process, and has had some input on the polling operation and been a liaison with the business community. But not everyone is happy about the arrangement.

“Mr. West’s proximity to his sister-in-law is viewed with suspicion by influential voices on the left, who believe the key to defeating former President Donald J. Trump is a full-throated embrace of liberal populism. Some progressives, upset that Ms. Harris in recent days has dialed back liberal stances she took during her 2020 campaign on health care and the environment, are worried that Mr. West could discourage populist positions on business issues including antitrust enforcement, data privacy and labor rights,” the Times reports.

More election news: “Trump’s trade guru plots an even more disruptive second term,” from our Gavin Bade.

In the Workplace

TURBULENCE AHEAD: Friday’s soft jobs report poses new risks to Vice President Kamala Harris and has some Democrats fuming at Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates, our Victoria Guida and Katy O’Donnell report.

The jobless rate rose to 4.3 percent in July, according to Labor Department data. That’s the highest it’s been since late 2021, though that figure is still low by historical standards.

“Fed Chair [Jerome] Powell made a serious mistake not cutting interest rates,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been calling for rate cuts for months, said in a post on X. “He’s been warned over and over again that waiting too long risks driving the economy into a ditch.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report did indicate that the economy added a net 114,000 jobs last month, though that was below analysts’ expectations.

More workplace news: “The U.S. Has Been Spending Billions to Revive Manufacturing. But China Is in Another League,” from The Wall Street Journal.

Hazardous profession: “‘Your favourite rappers are only alive because of our sacrifices’: the secret life of rap bodyguards,” from The Guardian.

On the Hill

A CLOSER LOOK: Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) on Friday asked the Government Accountability Office to look into labor conditions for federal inmates as well those in diversion programs and other aspects of the justice system.

The request comes after multiple media investigations and several recent lawsuits regarding the possible exploitation of workers in these situations. The pair note that these workers are generally not covered by federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

“Unsurprisingly, several investigations have found that incarcerated workers face dangerous working conditions with insufficient safety protections and that prisoners typically earn much less than the minimum wage in their states, if they are paid at all,” they wrote. “Some have pointed to the lack of federal worker protections for incarcerated individuals as creating an environment where such working conditions are possible.”

Not Good enough: “Recount confirms Bob Good’s loss after GOP rallies to oust one of their own,” from our Ally Mutnick and Olivia Beavers.

IN THE STATES

LATEST TO MANDATE PAY TRANSPARENCY: Massachusetts businesses with more than 24 workers will have to start reporting salary ranges on job postings, under a law signed by Gov. Maura Healey last week.

“The law also requires businesses with more than 100 employees to share their federal wage and workforce data reports with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The agency is responsible for compiling and publishing aggregated wage and workforce data to help identify gender and racial wage gaps by industry,” The Associated Press reports.

More local news: “[NYC] Hotel licensing bill amended to address restaurant concerns,” from our Janaki Chadha.

Unions

CUTTING IT CLOSE: Staff in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division recently launched an organizing drive and are trying to become an official representative before a potential change in the administration, Bloomberg Law reports.

“The attempt to form what would be DOJ’s first known union of litigators—parallel to a more advanced effort inside the department’s environmental division—is focused on maintaining ‘stable’ working conditions, such as telework flexibility, in the face of an uncertain future.”

Organizers are hoping to hold a representation election by October, though there are signs that union backers and the DOJ may have to wrangle over who would even be eligible to join a union.

More union news: “UAW president voices concerns about Kelly, Shapiro amid Harris' running mate search,” from the Detroit News.

IMMIGRATION

HOOVERING UP THE SPOTS: A cottage industry has sprouted up to exploit flaws in the H-1B visa lottery system to hog these coveted slots and leave others empty-handed, Bloomberg reports.

The outlet crunched the numbers and estimated that roughly 15,500 visas went to firms that engaged in “multiple registration,” in which an employer submitted more than one entry for the same worker to up their odds.

“Over a four-year period, one staffing firm operator used a dozen companies to enter the same applicants as many as 15 times, securing hundreds of H-1Bs while others lost out,” Bloomberg reported.

WHAT WE'RE READING

— “The Biden administration says it supports IVF. So why is the procedure not covered for all federal workers?” from The Boston Globe.

— “Willing to Die for MrBeast (and $5 Million),” from The New York Times.

— “Gretchen Carlson battled Roger Ailes and won. Now she's taking on all toxic bosses,” from Fast Company.

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