After the Labor Department (DOL) briefly released the regulatory agenda last week and then quickly withdrawn and then quickly withdrawn, it released its uniform agenda from spring 2025. According to the press release of the DOL, the spring of spring 2025 reflects a focus on transparency, deregulator and the clarification of the employer in a number of employment and employment questions. Several initiatives are directly associated with the latest executive regulations and court decisions, with a mixture of new rules and long -term reviews. The complete agenda can be displayed here.
The highlights mentioned in the press release include:
1. PBM fee (Pharmacy Benefit Manager)
The DOL prioritizes increased transparency in relation to the compensation that PBMs obtained from employers sponsored by employers. In accordance with the executive ordinance of President Trump, which aims to reduce the drug prices, the DOL will examine regulatory options to ensure that employers and plan sponsors have clear information about direct and indirect PBM fees.
2. Transparency in the cover
The DOL considers additional measures to improve market transparency, in particular in terms of pricing and costs for the cost statement in order to make more and more well -founded decisions about their health care.
3 .. Pension plan Trusty duties: ESG factors
The DOL will check the extent in which pension plans can be taken into account in the selection of investments and exercise of shareholders environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors (ESG) factors. This could affect how plans sponsors tackle investment decisions and practices.
4 .. Heat injury and illness prevention
The DOL develops standards to remedy heat -related injuries and illnesses in both outdoor work environments and interior. The proposed standard would clarify the obligations of the employer and carry out specific protective measures, whereby they go beyond the dependency on the general service clause. Public comments are asked to ensure that the final rule is effective, realizable and evidence -based. No target date was set for the final time.
5. Osha standards improvement projects
The agenda includes continuous efforts to optimize and modernize the Osha standards in various industries, including general industry, maritime, construction and agriculture. These projects aim to eliminate the double or excessively stressful requirements, with the focus on deregulating and reducing measures.
6. Common employer status under the FLSA
The DOL is considering new regulatory guidelines about when a company can be classified as a common employer according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The department has not issued these guidelines since 2021 and anticipated a message about the proposed regulation creation in December. The aim is to guide the enforcement and to promote uniformity in court decisions.
7. Employees or independent contractor classification
The DOL plans to visit the criteria for the classification of employees as an employee or independent contractor as part of the FLSA. The department intends to abolish the rule of the bidea era and to give a new message about the proposed regulation this month, which signals a deregulation approach. In the meantime, the DOL follows the approach, which is indeed set sheet No. 13 (July 2008), as informed by opinion letter FLSA 2025-2.
8. FLSA exceptions for employees Weißer collar
The DOL checks the rules that define exceptions from minimum wages and overtime for managers, administrative, specialist, outdoor sales and computer employees. This article is located on the “Long -term campaigns” agenda, which indicates lower priority. The department is currently applying the profit thresholds in 2019 and is checking the cleared rule of 2024.
9. H-2A wage rate and program requirements
The DOL is considering updating the methodology for calculating the prevailing wages for H-2A agricultural workers and suggests to be lifting certain requirements of the bid administration in court. These changes are intended to reduce the burdens for agricultural employers.
10. Unemployment insurance fraud prevention
The DOL announced the creation of a national database to combat fraud on unemployment insurance and permanently expanded the access of Labor to confidential applicant data. This initiative is connected by President Trump on March 20 to eliminate information silos to prevent waste, fraud and abuse.
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