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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
OPA News Release: [06/14/2002]
Contact Name: Sue
Hensley
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676
Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Major New Policy Directive to
Help Small Businesses Comply With Labor Laws
Plan To Help Employers Navigate “Regulatory Jungle,”
Better Protect Workers
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a
major new initiative to help employers better understand and meet their
responsibilities to protect workers under the nation’s labor laws and
regulations. The new policy, announced in a speech before the National
Federation of Independent Business, will provide small businesses with better
knowledge and tools to help them achieve compliance with hundreds of thousands
of pages of federal regulations and laws.
“We are going to help make sense of the regulatory jungle that
small business owners have to comply with, because that is the best way to make
worker protections work,” said Chao. “There is a new culture of
responsibility being built at the Department of Labor – a responsibility
for us to help business owners understand our exhaustive list of
regulations.”
As part of the plan, Chao announced a new, permanent, senior position at
the Department of Labor – a Director of Compliance Assistance. This new
director will ensure that all of the Department’s agencies are doing all
they can to help employers comply with regulations.
Chao also announced that OSHA is creating an office dedicated to small
business, and that the Wage and Hour division will make its Field Operations
handbook – the guide that tells inspectors what to look for in businesses
– publicly available.
A new toll-free information line, 1-866-4-USA-DOL, will provide clear
answers to questions about laws dealing with pay and leave, workplace safety,
health and pension benefits, and veterans’ reemployment rights.
Information is also available through the E-Laws Web site at www.dol.gov/elaws.
E-Laws is an innovative service that provides answers to frequently asked
questions and includes links to all Department of Labor agencies and regional
offices. Department staff will also engage in more hands-on activities and
conduct workshops throughout the country to educate workers and employers of
their rights and obligations under the law.
The primary focus of the new policy will be on small business. Large
companies are more likely to have in-house attorneys, human resources
specialists and accountants to track and ensure compliance with laws and
regulations, but small-business owners often cannot afford such expertise and
are left with the daunting responsibility of knowing and complying with
thousands of pages of regulations.
“The idea that the government ought to provide small businesses
with the knowledge and tools help people comply with its regulations should be
a top priority of the Department of Labor, and it is an idea whose time has
come,” said Chao.
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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
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