ICYMI: We Want to Hear From You: 2022 Advocacy Priorities

As we look back on the policy successes of 2021, GCCA wants your feedback to ensure we are prioritizing policy issues that are most important to your business. Please take a few minutes to complete this ten-question survey. All survey data is anonymous and only shared in aggregate.

Find the survey HERE.

DOL Announces Worker Initiative to Safeguard Rights for Workers in Warehouse and Logistics

On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced a Warehouse and Logistics Worker initiative designed to help ensure that workers in these industries, including delivery drivers, truck drivers and others are:

• Paid all their legally earned wages, including minimum and overtime.
• Safe from workplace harassment and retaliation when they claim their rights.
• Not prevented from taking time off from work under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The initiative will also target misclassification of employees as independent contractors, which they state is a common occurrence in both industries that denies workers their full wages and legal protections. The Wage and Hour Division’s initiative will use education, outreach and vigorous enforcement to increase compliance and reduce industry violations. It will also identify key stakeholders, such as worker advocacy groups, employers and employer organizations to ensure the initiative’s effectiveness.

GCCA encourages members to review the initiative HERE and remain observant as OSHA continues to increase their enforcement activities within the warehouse and logistics industries.

Senate Narrowly Confirms Califf for FDA Commissioner

Robert Califf was narrowly confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, to lead the Food and Drug Administration following a pitched effort by the White House to shore up support. The Senate voted 50 to 46 in favor of the confirmation, which some Democrats had opposed because of Dr. Califf’s industry ties and some Republicans refused to support amid pressure from abortion-pill opponents. Six Republicans voted for confirmation, while four Democrats and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, voted against. Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.) voted present. As FDA commissioner, Dr. Califf will play a central role in one of the key agencies overseeing the U.S. pandemic response. The FDA has been assessing Covid-19 vaccines, treatment and tests, and deciding whether the evidence supports use. The confirmation is a win for the Biden administration, which has been eager to fill the position since the agency has been without a permanent leader for more than a year. Dr. Janet Woodcock has been serving as acting commissioner. Dr. Woodcock said in a letter to agency staff that she planned to stay as principal deputy commissioner. Dr. Califf is a Duke University cardiologist who is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has worked on drug-company clinical trials and served on the boards of directors of some pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, he advised Alphabet Inc.’s Google Health and Verily healthcare subsidiaries.

Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure

Every organization in the United States is at risk from cyber threats that can disrupt essential services and potentially result in impacts to public safety. Over the past year, cyber incidents have impacted many companies, non-profits, and other organizations, large and small, across multiple sectors of the economy. Notably, the Russian government has used cyber as a key component of their force projection over the last decade, including previously in Ukraine in the 2015 timeframe. The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure—including power and communications—can augment pressure on a country’s government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives. While there are not currently any specific credible threats to the U.S. homeland, we must be mindful of the potential for the Russian government to consider escalating its destabilizing actions in ways that may impact others outside of Ukraine. 

GCCA encourages members to review the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s information below and remain vigilant with their Cyber Security.

CISA Russia Alert

CISA Shields Up

Covid-19 Regulation Still on Agenda, OSHA Chief Doug Parker Says

The most urgent rulemaking for the federal government’s worker safety agency is enacting a permanent Covid-19 standard for the health-care industry, OSHA chief Doug Parker. “It’s the occupational hazard of our time and we’ll continue to treat it like that as long as necessary,” Parker said of Covid-19. Parker, the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health sworn in on Nov. 3, discussed the rulemaking during a wide-ranging discussion that included questions about the need to increase the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors and the agency’s enforcement priorities. OSHA also continues to work on a more encompassing infectious disease standard for health care that would be completed after the Covid-19 measure is enacted. His comments about the two health-care rule proposals clarify the agency’s path forward from a tumultuous winter of setbacks. The Supreme Court on Jan. 13 blocked OSHA’s shot-or-test mandate for workers at the biggest U.S. employers. Two weeks earlier, the agency had announced it was halting enforcement of a Covid-19 emergency temporary standard specifically for health-care providers, unveiled in June, that required infection control programs and other measures because it hadn’t met a Dec. 21 deadline to enact a permanent rule. Several unions are asking a federal appeals court to require OSHA to complete that health-care workers regulation within 30 days of a court order. Oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit are set for April 4. READ MORE HERE