the trump administration and the 115th congress: the … national outlook... · pakistan governing...

THE WASHINGTON OUTLOOK FOR HR PUBLIC POLICY

Patrick J Brady Senior Advisor, Government Relations

HR Florida State Council January 24, 2018

The Trump Administration and the 115th Congress:

The Washington Outlook for HR Public Policy


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@SHRMPBrady

#SHRM @hrflorida


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Current Washington Environment

Key HR Issues

Tax and Benefits

Labor Management / Civil Rights

Health Care Reform

Immigration Reform

SHRM A-Team Update

What We Will Cover


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The Presidency


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Republicans control the House in the 115th Congress with 239 Republicans to 193 Democrats. *

Why control of the House is important:

Oversight hearings;

All tax legislation must originate in the House;

Party in control of House tightly controls policy and;

Need 2/3 of House to override a presidential veto.


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Republicans control the Senate in the 115th Congress with 51 Republicans to 47 Democrats, and 2 Independents.

Why control of the Senate is important:

Oversight hearings;

Confirms presidential appointments and judges with simple majority;

Approves treaties and;

Magic number for control in the Senate is 60, not 51. Need 60 votes to ensure agenda moves forward.


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Congressional Job Approval


Since 1862 the President’s Party has lost ground in the House in 36 of 39 midterm elections

U.S. House of Representatives

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Congress


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The president’s party has lost Senate seats in 19 of 26 midterms; their only gains occurred during the president’s first term


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Congress 2018 Mid-Term Elections


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Direction of Country


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“America First” running headlong into domestic and international realities, priorities and responsibilities: North Korea Russia Syria Pakistan

Governing in the majority is proving to be difficult: Complicated “stuff” Freedom Caucus vs. Main Street Republicans Slimmer majority in the Senate now Hyper-partisan environment in Washington Divided America

Ended year with legislative “win” on tax reform but starting new year with many “must do’s”: Fund the government before February 8 deadline DACA fix Debt limit increase

President Trump

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The Presidency


President Donald Trump signed tax reform legislation, Public Law No: 115-97, on December 22, 2017.

Wins for HR include:

• Preservation of Employer-Provided Education Assistance

(IRC Section 127)

• Preservation of Qualified Tuition Reduction Programs (IRC Section 117)

• Preservation of Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (IRC Section 129)

• Preservation of Adoption Benefits

• Preservation of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit

• Preservation of Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs)

• Preservation of Catch-Up Provisions for High Earners

2017

Tax Reform

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https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr1/BILLS-115hr1enr.pdf





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Tax Reform Changes Impacting HR: (effective December 31, 2017) • Commuting (Transit) Benefits – No longer a deductible business expense for employers.

Employees may continue to exclude the benefit from taxable income. (2018 limit $260/month)

• Biking Benefit – No longer a deductible business expense for employers. Benefit now included in taxable income for the employee. (2018 limit $20/month)

• Moving Expenses – No longer a deductible business expense for employers. Employees cannot deduct moving expenses and any stipend provided by employers will be included as taxable income.

• Other Fringe Benefits – Other benefits such as employer-provided meals and onsite gyms are no longer a deductible business expense for employers. Employees may continue to exclude the benefit from taxable income.

• Employee Achievement Awards - No longer a deductible business expense for employers. Benefit now included in taxable income for the employees. This includes cash, cash equivalents, gift cards, gift certificates, vacations, meals, lodging or tickets to theater or sporting events.

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Credit for Employers - Provides an employer a credit of 12.5 – 25 percent of the wages paid to a qualified employee utilizing FMLA.


Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act (HR 795)

Bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL), Jared Polis (D-CO), Scott Peters (D-CA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Expands Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code to include student loan repayment.

Expansion of Section 127 Limit (S.2007/H.R. 4135)

Bipartisan bill introduced in Oct. by Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) and Reps. Jason Smith (R-MO), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) & Danny Davis (D-IL).

Will expand Section 127 of the IRC to $11,500 per calendar year, and index that amount for inflation.

As Chair of Coalition to Preserve Employer-Provided Educational Assistance, SHRM supports both of these bills.

2018 Policy Priorities:

Expansion of Employer-Provided

Education Assistance Benefits

(Section 127)

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President Trump created a new “2 for 1” Rule:

Creates a Regulatory Reform Office in each agency

Focus on regulations that eliminate/inhibit jobs, outdated or costs exceed benefits

Aggressive regulatory and executive action on Obama-era rules:

Final Persuader Rule Rescinded

Administrative Interpretations on Joint Employment and Independent Contractor Rescinded

NLRB Board remains a 2-2 tie of Democrats and Republicans. Recent Board action will be reviewed:

Marvin Kaplan, confirmed, named Chair

William Emanual, confirmed

Board Chair Phillip Miscimarra retired in December

December flurry of activity = cases overturned on joint employment, micro-unions, and neutral handbooks should receive more latitude

RFI on 2015 “ambush” election rule due 2/28/18

2017-2018

Public Policy Agenda Labor and Employment

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July 26, 2017 DOL issued 60-day comment period on RFI on overtime rule.

August 31, 2017 Texas Court struck down final Obama Administration overtime rule.

October 2018, target date for NPRM on overtime rule.

Janet Dhillon (Chair) and Daniel Gade nominated to EEOC Commission and still pending confirmation. Once confirmed, EEOC will review:

Final Guidance on Sex Discrimination

Final Wellness Rules under ADA and GINA by Aug. 2018

EEOC Best Practices on Harassment and draft guidance

Stayed EE0-1 Compensation Data Collection Rule will be reviewed

2017-2018


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Obstacles to Agency Action


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State and local paid sick leave laws, by administrative district

Requirements vary by jurisdiction

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Bills to mandate paid leave introduced in Congress, but action unlikely:

Healthy Families Act (S.636 & H.R. 1516) – Requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave.

FAMILY Act (S.397 & H.R.947) – Creates a paid family leave insurance fund through a payroll tax to provide partial wage replacement for FMLA qualifying events.

2017-2018


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Tomorrow’s Workplace Doesn’t Work By Today’s Rules


Representative Mimi Walters introduced SHRM-developed legislation that would expand paid leave and workplace flexibility opportunities for all employees:

Employers that choose to participate by offering a minimum threshold of paid leave and a flexible work option to all employees will benefit from pre-emption of all state and local paid sick leave law requirements.

Amends ERISA, giving employers flexibility and predictability through a federal framework to design workplace flexibility offerings, rather than a patchwork of conflicting government mandates.

H.R. 4219, Workflex in the

21st Century Act of 2017 Labor and Employment

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Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA)


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Amends ERISA by adding to the definition of an ERISA plan a “Qualified Flexible Work Arrangement Plan” (QFWA) that must include 2 components for all employees: compensable leave and a workflex option.

Compensable leave defined as paid time off, sick leave, personal leave, or vacation.

Number of compensable days available to employee determined by employer size and employee tenure.

Compensable leave is available to full-and part-time employees with leave prorated for part-time employees based on a calculation subject to the employer’s full-time designation.

Employees will begin to accrue leave upon employment but may be prohibited from using the leave in their first 90 days of employment.


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A Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) must be offered to each eligible employee

(individuals employed for 12 months and that have worked 1,000 hours during the

previous 12-month period) and may include:

Compressed work schedule;

Biweekly work program;

Telecommuting program;

Job-sharing program;

Flexible scheduling; or

Predictable scheduling

Employers may specify which employee positions can participate in a particular FWA

and employee participation is voluntary.

Participation of union employees will be determined by the collective bargaining

process.

Federal contractors that offer this ERISA workflex plan would satisfy the executive

order on paid sick leave.


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The Vast Majority of

Americans have Employment-based

Coverage

Rate of health care coverage of U.S. population, 2015

55.7%

16.3%

19.6%

16.3%

4.7%

9.1%

0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%

Employment-based

Direct purchase

Medicaid

Medicare

Military health care

Uninsured

Source: “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2015,” US. Census Bureau, September 2016.

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Health Care Reform Issues


Repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was one of President Trump’s major priorities in the first 100 days of his Administration…. but reform has proved difficult.

Congress tried to use budget reconciliation framework to provide expedited repeal of the tax provisions of the ACA, but failed.

Targeted and incremental changes to the ACA is ongoing. For example, the new tax law reduces the individual mandate penalty to “0” beginning in 2019. However, the mandate is still applicable for 2017 and 2018.

House Ways and Means will consider a package to delay

some ACA taxes in the first quarter of 2018. That package will likely include…

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Health Care Reform Issues

2017

Public Policy Agenda Health Care Reform


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These taxes are currently scheduled to take effect in 2018 and 2020


2017-2018 Public Policy Agenda

Immigration Reform

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Leslie Christ, SHRM-CP, (pictured on the far left), Crystal Frey, SHRM-SCP, (seated next to Leslie) testifying at House

Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on comp time

SHRM on “speed-dial” with policy makers: Testified 7 times in front of

congressional committees Testified 3 times before federal

agencies Testified 5 times at the state level Invited to 3 congressional

roundtables Invited to 8 federal agency

roundtables

Frank Cania, SHRM-SCP, serving as a witness before the House Committee on

Small Business on regulatory reform

Nancy McKeague, SHRM-SCP, testified before the House Subcommittee on Health,

Education Labor and Pensions on FLSA reforms

SHRM Advocacy in Action


9,800+ active members. 700+ Advocacy Captains designated

across the country in 50 states. .

SHRM A-Team Statistics

SHRM Advocacy in Action

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Get Involved: www.advocacy.shrm.org

http://www.advocacy.shrm.org/


Patrick Brady

Senior Advisor,

Government Relations

[email protected]

@SHRMPBrady

1800 Duke Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

+1-703-535-6246

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