#us dol

[msha-official]

Long story short: a revision to MSHA's requirements was proposed to remove the clause "Additional measures may be required in plans by the District Manager." (30CFR § 75.222)

This will cause more miners to die.

The public comment period ends July 31, 2025. The link with the rule change and instructions to comment is below.

I've also included my own defense for why this regulation change is hazardous and ultimately more costly for the mining industry as a whole.

Variability in roof conditions means not every coal mine is able to support the roof in a way that will prevent roof falls from killing the miners with the minimum roof support. The clause "Additional measures may be required in plans by the District Manager" (30CFR § 75.222)" addresses these shortcomings to suit the requirements of the individual mine's roof control plan to best protect the miners, without having to hold the entire industry to an unreasonably high standard, just to protect the miners at the mine with the worst conditions. By having the discretion to individually allocate minimum support at each mine based on the conditions present, this clause is actually saving the rest of the industry from having to follow stricter regulations everywhere.

Executive Order 12866 requires agencies to tailor regulations to impose the least burden on society. Having individualized roof control plans does this by imposing the burden of following stricter guidelines on only one mine instead of requiring every mine in the country to follow those stricter regulations

Removing this clause places the onus of miner safety more fully in the operator's hands to be able to address conditions that are not addressed in the minimum roof control requirements set forth by the regulations. The District Manager adds individualized mine requirements based on the conditions of each mine to ensure the safety of the miners working there. These additions are non-arbitrary and based on addressing the conditions of the mine. If this ability of the District Manager is removed, more miners will die from roof falls where the minimum roof control requirements are not sufficient to address individual mine conditions.

2016 marked the first year in US history where 0 roof fall fatalities occurred. Having additional requirements for each mine at the discretion of the District Manager is proven to work at preventing roof fall fatalities.

In addition, preventing fatalities by using appropriate roof support to begin with simply costs less than addressing fatalities. The annual savings estimated by this proposal of $1.1 million over 10 years is outweighed by the cost of addressing fatalities that will occur if mine-specific regulations, addressed by the District Manager, are removed.

The rule change also cites that this role change will result in "a more efficient Agency review and approval of roof control plans for underground coal mines." If every proposed change to a roof control plan needs full comment periods and the equivalent status of a publicly-applied law for a change that should only affect a single mine, the roof control plan approval process will significantly slowed.

Further note: the regulations for ventilation requirements and other specific mining plans are also being edited to remove similar clauses. Please also submit comments to those regulation changes.

[iww-gnv]

New Department of Labor rule could reclassify countless gig workers as employees

The US Department of Labor shared a final rule on Tuesday that would increase the difficulty of classifying workers as independent contracto

The US Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule to the Federal Register on Wednesday that would increase the difficulty of classifying workers as independent contractors. If the rule survives court challenges unscathed, it will replace a business-friendly Trump-era regulation that did the opposite. It’s scheduled to go into effect on March 11. The new rule, first proposed in 2022, could have profound implications for companies like Uber and DoorDash that rely heavily on gig workers. It would mandate that workers who are “economically dependent” on a company be considered employees. The rule restores a pre-Trump precedent of using six factors to determine workers’ classification. These include their opportunity for profit or loss, the financial stake and nature of resources the worker has invested in the work, the work relationship’s permanence, the employer’s degree of control over the person’s work, how essential the person’s work is to the employer’s business and the worker’s skill and initiative.

[msha-official]

Thank you to our fearless (unconfirmed) leader for checking the buzz word sheet (but not much else) before opening up the town hall to everyone in MSHA. Wayne and Julianne really made it clear how much they care about mining in this country, and fast-tracking some mines keep critical minerals that we don't want to pay another country for, since we've already burned all those bridges.

Thank you Wayne for emphasizing how much you value community policing. Everyone loves having their work and opinions scrutinized by someone who doesn't know what they do.

Thank you for emphasizing transparency, but making sure our business is our business and we shouldn't talk to the media.

Wayne, you brought up your amazing critical thinking skills very often. I'd love to see you employ them someday.

It was wonderful you opened the town hall to everyone asking questions, and then proceeded to flounder every single one. I do love that you mentioned multiple times you had "no transparency" especially concerning the multiple questions about RIF notices, and whether they are forthcoming. I see that all types of transparency are being employed.

You did make it very clear you don't know economics, as you claimed at the start. I'm sure when you were growing up dazzled by America's booming industry, you were missing the lessons on what tariffs even are.

The one true thing you said was that our job is to protect miners and I am at least grateful you understand that much.

[msha-official]

As part of the US Department of Labor, we are wishing you a very happy Labor Day! If you're interested in joining a union, the DOL has updated the knowledge center with new information and resources. Know your rights!

The DOL is working to build an equitable, empowered workforce for all.

[msha-official]

A government worker's message for Elon Musk

Since taking office, President Trump and his advisor, billionaire business owner Elon Musk, have worked to winnow the ranks of federal worke

[fedminimumwage]

History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law

US Department of Labor.

View source here.

Early in the administration of the FLSA, it became apparent that application of the statutory minimum wage was likely to produce undesirable effects upon the economies of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands if applied to all of their covered industries. Consequently on June 26, 1940, an amendment was enacted prescribing the establishment of special industry committees to determine, and issue through wage orders, the minimum wage levels applicable in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The rates established by industry committees could be less than the statutory rates applicable elsewhere in the United States.

On May 14, 1947, the FLSA was amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act. This legislation was significant because it resolved some issues as to what constitutes compensable hours worked under FLSA. Matters involving underground travel in coal mines and make-ready practices in factories had been decided earlier in a number of U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Subsequent amendments to the FLSA have extended the law's coverage to additional employees and raised the level of the minimum wage. In 1949, the minimum wage was raised from 40 cents an hour to 75 cents an hour for all workers and minimum wage coverage was expanded to include workers in the air transport industry. The 1949 amendments also eliminated industry committees except in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A specific section was added granting the Wage and Hour Administrator in the U.S. Department of Labor authorization to control the incidence of exploitative industrial homework. A 1955 amendment increased the minimum wage to $1.00 an hour with no changes in coverage.

The 1961 amendments greatly expanded the FLSA's scope in the retail trade sector and increased the minimum for previously covered workers to $1.15 an hour effective September 1961 and to $1.25 an hour in September 1963. The minimum for workers newly subject to the Act was set at $1.00 an hour effective September 1961, $1.15 an hour in September 1964, and $1.25 an hour in September 1965. Retail and service establishments were allowed to employ fulltime students at wages of no more than 15 percent below the minimum with proper certification from the Department of Labor. The amendments extended coverage to employees of retail trade enterprises with sales exceeding $1 million annually, although individual establishments within those covered enterprises were exempt if their annual sales fell below $250,000. The concept of enterprise coverage was introduced by the 1961 amendments. Those amendments extended coverage in the retail trade industry from an established 250,000 workers to 2.2 million.

Congress further broadened coverage with amendments in 1966 by lowering the enterprise sales volume test to $500,000, effective February 1967, with a further cut to $250,000 effective February 1969. The 1966 amendments also extended coverage to public schools, nursing homes, laundries, and the entire construction industry. Farms were subject to coverage for the first time if their employment reached 500 or more man days of labor in the previous year's peak quarter. The minimum wage went to $1.00 an hour effective February 1967 for newly covered nonfarm workers, $1.15 in February 1968, $1.30 in February 1969, $1.45 in February 1970, and $1.60 in February 1971. Increases for newly subject farm workers stopped at $1.30. The 1966 amendments extended the fulltime student certification program to covered agricultural employers and to institutions of higher learning.

In 1974, Congress included under the FLSA all no supervisory employees of Federal, State, and local governments and many domestic workers. (Subsequently, in 1976, in National League of Cities v. Usery, the Supreme Court held that the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA could not constitutionally apply to State and local government employees engaged in traditional government functions.) The minimum wage increased to $2.00 an hour in 1974, $2.10 in 1975, and $2.30 in 1976 for all except farm workers, whose minimum initially rose to $1.60. Parity with nonfarm workers was reached at $2.30 with the 1977 amendments.

The 1977 amendments, by eliminating the separate lower minimum for large agricultural employers (although retaining the overtime exemption), set a new uniform wage schedule for all covered workers. The minimum went to $2.65 an hour in January 1978, $2.90 in January 1979, $3.10 in January 1980, and $3.35 in January 1981. The amendments eased the provisions for establishments permitted to employ students at the lower wage rate and allowed special waivers for children 10to11 years old to work in agriculture. The overtime exemption for employees in hotels, motels, and restaurants was eliminated. To allow for the effects of inflation, the $250,000 dollar volume of sales coverage test for retail trade and service enterprises was increased in stages to $362,500 after December 31, 1981.

As a result of the Supreme Court's 1985 decision in Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority et.al., Congress passed amendments changing the application of FLSA to public sector employees. Specifically, these amendments permit State and local governments to compensate their employees for overtime hours worked with compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, at a rate of 1 1/2 hours for each hour of overtime worked.

The 1989 amendments established a single annual dollar volume test of $500,000 for enterprise coverage of both retail and no retail businesses. At the same time, the amendments eliminated the minimum wage and overtime pay exemption for small retail firms. Thus, employees of small retail businesses became subject to minimum wage and overtime pay in any workweek in which they engage in commerce or the production of goods for commerce. The minimum wage was raised to $3.80 an hour beginning April 1, 1990, and to $4.25 an hour beginning April 1, 1991. The amendments also established a training wage provision (at 85% of the minimum wage, but not less than $3.35 an hour) for employees under the age of twenty, a provision that expired in 1993. Finally, the amendments established an overtime exception for time spent by employees in remedial education and civil money penalties for willful or repeated violations of the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements of the law.

In 1990, Congress enacted legislation requiring regulations to be issued providing a special overtime exemption for certain highly skilled professionals in the computer field who receive not less than 6 and one-half times the applicable minimum wage.

The 1996 amendments increased the minimum wage to $4.75 an hour on October 1, 1996, and to $5.15 an hour on September 1, 1997. The amendments also established a youth sub minimum wage of $4.25 an hour for newly hired employees under age 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days after being hired by their employer; revised the tip credit provisions to allow employers to pay qualifying tipped employees no less than $2.13 per hour if they received the remainder of the statutory minimum wage in tips; set the hourly compensation test for qualifying computer related professional employees at $27.63 an hour; and amended the Portal-to-Portal Act to allow employers and employees to agree on the use of employer provided vehicles for commuting to and from work, at the beginning and end of the work day, without counting the commuting time as compensable working time if certain conditions are met.

The 2007 amendments increased the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. A separate provision of the bill brings about phased increases to the minimum wages in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and in American Samoa, with the goal of bringing the minimum wages in those locations up to the general federal minimum wage over a number of years.