NAED continues to monitor what’s happening in the political world for our member companies. NAED’s Interim CEO and Vice-President of Government Affairs Ed Orlet and association lobbyist Alex Ayers discuss the positive and the not-so-positive events happening in Washington in the latest edition of the Washington Wire.
For more in-depth information, click on the link below and subscribe to the Washington Wire.
After Three Weeks of Uncertainty, the House Elected a New Speaker with No Announced Plans to Work on Business Issues
Congress has had an interesting October. Following a vote to keep the government from shutting down over the last weekend in September, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
After 22 days, Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA), a relatively unknown member of Congress, gained unanimous support on the House floor from the Republican Conference to be the next Speaker of the House. Speaker Johnson outlined his plan for the remaining 14.5 months of the 118th Congress in a letter to colleagues announcing his candidacy. Unfortunately for businesses, nowhere in his two-page outline did he address the need for expired tax provisions or reduce the impact of regulations from the Executive branch.
The uncertainty of the past three weeks will have a ripple effect on a possible end-of-year tax package and the future of tax policy until the business community has a chance to work more closely with the new Speaker.
Department of Energy Says Massive Investments Needed to Meet Clean Energy Goals
A need to upgrade everything from local grids up to major interstate transmission lines offers an opportunity for NAED members who supply these materials. Meeting the growing demand for electric vehicles (EV) will require infrastructure at the home or business level, local grids supplying homes and businesses, regional infrastructure to supply and transmit the energy, and interregional transmission capacity to move energy from new transmission sources further from urban areas.
Department of Labor has Released Proposed Overtime Rule for Salaried Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed changes to the white-collar exemptions to federal overtime pay requirements that could severely and negatively impact electrical wholesalers.
The DOL has proposed raising the minimum salary threshold to $1,158 per week ($60,209 annually) – an increase of nearly 70%. The DOL is making this change despite the last increase occurring only four years ago. DOL also proposed automatically updating the minimum salary every three years.
This massive increase to the salary level, followed by automatic increases every three years, will harm wholesaler-distributors.
National Labor Relations Board Unveils New Joint Employer Standard
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reversed the Trump-era joint employer standards which helped to ensure employers are only liable for labor violations on workers they have actual control over. The new standard opens many employers up to potential violations by contracted entities.
For more information, download the pdf or check out the NAED Government Affairs page, where you can stay up-to-date by subscribing to the Washington Wire.
Tagged with NAED, Washington Wire