Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Wage and Hour Issues
Chairman Scott: Final DOL Rule Will Rob Workers of More than $3 Billion a Year
01.06.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Labor announced its final rule on the classification of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department's rule would narrow its interpretation of who is considered an employee under the FLSA. The rule creates a new test that effectively rejects the inquiry into whether a worker is economically dependent on a potential employer and instead makes employee… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Department of Labor’s Harmful Tip Rule
12.22.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a tip rule that would repeal the 80/20 rule, which prohibits employers from paying subminimum wages to tipped workers who spend more than 20 percent of their time performing tasks where they cannot earn tips. "Today's final tip rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) strips tipped workers of a critical protection against wage theft at a time when they need it most. … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Government Watchdog Confirms DOL Broke the Law
12.15.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the findings of its investigation into the Department's rulemaking process for its 2017 proposed tip rule. The report found that, among other errors, the Department improperly withheld information regarding the expected impact of the rule on tipped workers. The 2019 proposed tip rule places no limitation on the amount of time a tipped empl… Continue Reading
Government Watchdog: DOL’s Lack of Service Contract Act Enforcement Costs Workers Millions
11.23.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report revealing lapses in the Department of Labor's enforcement of the Service Contract Act (SCA), which requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality. The GAO found that from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Labor found wage or benefit violatio… Continue Reading
House Democrats to DOL: Proposed Rule to Increase Employee Misclassification Will Cost Workers and the Economy
10.27.20 WASHINGTON - Today, led by Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Alma Adams (NC-12), over 100 House Democrats wrote to Department of Labor Secretary Scalia opposing the Department's proposal to narrow its interpretation of employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), leaving workers even more vulnerable to employee misclassification. The Members express deep concern that the proposal will have wide rea… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Independent Watchdog Report Reveals Administration Is Improperly Denying Workers Paid Leave During Pandemic
08.11.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to a report from the Department of Labor's Inspector General that found the Department's implementation of the paid leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act needlessly excluded too many workers. The report also finds the Department has not developed a clear plan to enforce paid leave protections. "The Department of Labor Inspector General's report confirms that the Trump adm… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: DOL’s Joint Employer Rule Leaves Workers Vulnerable to Wage Theft
01.13.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor issued a final rule to narrow its interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act's joint employment standard. "The Fair Labor Standards Act's broad joint employment standard has long ensured that workers can hold multiple employers accountable for violating workplace rights and protections where the employee establishes that they are… Continue Reading
House Democrats to Labor Secretary Scalia: Uphold Protections for Tipped Workers
12.11.19 WASHINGTON - Today, led by Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), House Democrats sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia condemning the Department's proposed changes to tip regulations that the Economic Policy Institute estimates could cost workers more than $700 million annually. For nearly three decades, the Department of Labor enforced guidance, commonly referred to as the "80-20 r… Continue Reading
Top Committee Democrats Call on Labor Secretary to Quantify How Much Workers Will Lose Under Proposed Tip Rule
10.24.19 WASHINGTON - Today, top Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee submitted a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Eugene Scalia calling on the Department to publish legally required estimates about the full impact of its proposed tip rule on American workers. The proposed rule, published earlier this month, included a provision codifying a repeal of the 80/20 rule but failed to include an economic analysis of the potential costs to workers, as required by law. The 80/20 rule proh… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Announces Future of Work Hearings
10.16.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) announced a series of three legislative hearings to explore challenges, opportunities, and policy solutions related to the "future of work." The three hearings will specifically focus on: Preserving worker protections and benefits in the face of changing business models and work arrangements; Empowering workers with the skills they need to avoid or address job displacement and remain competitive; and Protecting workers' civil … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott to Secretary Acosta: The Department of Labor’s Proposed Overtime Rule Leaves Millions of Workers Behind
05.22.19 WASHINGTON - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, wrote a letter to Department of Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta urging the Department to abandon its proposal to rescind Obama-era overtime regulations. Under the Department's proposal, nearly 8.2 million workers-including 4.2 million women and 3 million people of color-would be left behind. The Chairman expressed concern regarding the Department's flawed methodology that influenced t… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: New Overtime Threshold Falls Short
03.07.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor proposed to raise the overtime salary threshold to $35,308 from $23,660. The overtime threshold is the level below which salaried executive, administrative and professional workers must receive overtime pay for each hour worked after 40 hours per week. "The new overtime salary threshold proposed by the Department of Labor falls far short of meeting the needs of workers who are struggling to ge… Continue Reading
Rep. Takano: “New overtime salary threshold ignores the economic realities middle-class workers are facing”
03.01.19 WASHINGTON- Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement following reports that the U.S. Department of Labor plans to raise the overtime pay threshold to $35,000 from $24,000 through new rulemaking "The Department of Labor's new overtime salary threshold ignores the economic realities middle-class workers are facing across the country. The $35,000 overtime pay threshold is woefully inadequate compared to the Obama-era regulations that would have increased the threshold to nearl… Continue Reading
Top Democrats to OMB: Don’t Suppress Data on Pay Discrimination
10.24.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), the top Democrat on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, and Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney requesting that he reverse a decision to stop the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from collecting data on pay discrimination. Under the Obama administration, the … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the Omnibus Bill
03.22.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after he voted in favor of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2018. "While this spending bill is about funding the government, it also a statement of values. When Congress prioritizes federal investments, the country makes progress. As a whole, I see this as a win for students. I support the increased investments in education from birth through college and rejection of misguided cuts proposed by the Trump administrati… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott on DOL Insufficient Response to Tip Theft Regulation
02.21.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor provided an inadequate response to a February 2, 2018, oversight letter requesting more information on the DOL's proposed harmful tip rule. The Department's response came after Ranking Member Scott transmitted a second letter calling on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to respond to outstanding inquiries from the Committee. "I am disappointed that the DOL has failed to turn over informat… Continue Reading
Scott and Dem Leadership Hold Forum on Administration’s Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.15.18 WASHINGTON - TODAY, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), Congressional Progressive Caucus Labor Liaison, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), vice ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce hosted a forum on the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposal to allow employers to pocket their emp… Continue Reading
More than 120 Democrats Urge Department of Labor to Withdraw Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.06.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member on the Education and the Workforce Committee, Senator Patty Murry (D-WA), ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and 122 Democrats submitted a public comment to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta urging the Department of Labor (DOL) to withdraw its proposed change to the tip rules. DOL is considering changing existing rules to allow employers to pocket tips of workers, which could result in the… Continue Reading
Top Democrats Demand DOL Share Estimates about Effects of Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.02.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), vice ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary R. Alexander Acosta requesting the Department… Continue Reading
DOL Proposed Tip Rule is Harmful: See What People Are Saying...
02.01.18 Under the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed tip rule, employers will benefit at the expense of workers. And in the wake of allegations that DOL withheld estimates that workers would lose billions as a result of the rule, it's clear the administration does not have the interest of working people in mind. Don't just take our word for it-read what the groups are saying: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: "The Trump Labor Department lied in claiming that they could not produce… Continue Reading