It should come as no surprise that self-declared “union man” President Biden put enforcement of workplace regulations near the top of his administration’s priorities, surpassed in importance perhaps only by his commitment to resurrect unions as a force in the workplace. Aggressively enforcing workplace laws is the primary manner the Biden administration can demonstrate it is protecting workers’ interests.
In his first week in office, President Biden directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to double its number of compliance officers and conduct more workplace inspections. Another clear indicator of the administration’s intent to tighten workplace laws is the appointments to the Department of Labor (DOL) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). As they say, personnel is policy.