The Secretary of Labor has issued “The Strategic Plan” for fiscal years through 2016. As you can see in the diagram, the essence of this plan consists of work-life balance, health care, income security, and advocacy – all noble goals. The challenge: Defining a context or meaning for these terms.
Here’s what The Plan states:
Strategies for Reforming Worker Protection
- Target the most egregious and persistent violators.
- Protect the most vulnerable populations while assuring broad-based compliance.
- Regulate to eliminate or reduce the hazards with the broadest and most serious consequences based on sound science.
Evaluation. Establish regular processes for evaluating the success of enforcement and regulatory strategies in helping achieve desired outcomes.
Innovation
- Foster a culture that emphasizes continuous improvement in regulatory and enforcement programs.
- Shift the burden of compliance to the employer or other regulated entity, rather than relying exclusively on enforcement interventions to eliminate “catch me if you can” regulation and enforcement.
- Emphasize organization-wide enforcement and other strategies for leveraging limited resources to accomplish the broadcast possible compliance.
- Use openness, transparency, and effective press and communications strategies to help ensure broad-based and continuing compliance.
Improved Implementation
- Implement collaborative enforcement strategies with other DOL, federal, state, and local agencies to leverage limited resources and ensure broad compliance in the entire workplace.
- Establish and maintain an effective partnership among worker protection agencies, the Solicitor’s Office, and the Policy Office in all aspects of regulation and enforcement.
- Impose penalties and other remedies which are consistent with the seriousness of the violation and act as effective deterrents, including identifying and aggressively pursuing appropriate cases for criminal prosecution.
- Partner with worker and community-based organizations to identify likely violations and educate workers, small businesses, and others about the law’s requirements.
- Involve workers and worker organizations in the workplace to prevent, identify, and remedy violations.
- Provide meaningful compliance assistance and engage the regulated community in designing and implementing compliance assistance.
Learn more on the DOL website
