Policy Week in Review – July 18, 2025

White House Announces NLRB Nominees 

On Thursday, the White House announced two nominees for open seats at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), including Scott Mayer, chief labor counsel at The Boeing Corporation, and James Murphy, a former NLRB career official. Since the termination of Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, the Board has been without a quorum. If these nominations are confirmed by the Senate, a quorum will be restored to the Board allowing it to rule on cases, issue decisions, and engage in rulemaking. 

Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Introduced 

On Tuesday, Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and a bipartisan group of cosponsors introduced the “Dignity Act,” an immigration reform bill that seeks to secure the border, strengthen enforcement, provide a path to earn legal status for long-term undocumented immigrants living in the United States, and require employers nationwide to use E-verify, among other provisions.  Given that comprehensive immigration reform has eluded Congress for decades, it is unknown whether this bipartisan solution will advance.  A summary of the bill can be found here. 

Senate HELP Committee Notices Executive Session to Vote on Pending Nominees 

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to hold an executive session on July 24 to vote on the following pending nominees:  Brittany Panuccio to serve as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; David Castillo to serve as chief financial officer at the Department of Labor; Brian Christine to serve as assistant secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services; and Jonathan Snare to serve as a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. NOTE: Crystal Carey, nominated to serve as the general counsel at the NLRB, was excluded from this list. During Carey’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) expressed criticism of Carey’s position against an NLRB decision during the previous administration prohibiting so-called “captive audience” meetings—a key pillar of Hawley’s “Pro-Worker Framework.” It is expected that all Committee Democrats will vote against Carey, requiring all Committee Republicans to be unified and vote in her favor, including Hawley.

Chair Cassidy Holds Hearing on Providing Portable Benefits to Independent Workers 

On Thursday, Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) of the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing, titled “Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers,” to receive witness testimony on how to empower independent workers to access portable workplace benefits.  A link to the hearing and witness testimony can be found here. This hearing follows the introduction of a legislative package introduced by Chair Cassidy and Republican committee members last week that would provide a safe harbor from certain worker misclassification claims for employers that voluntarily provide benefits to independent contractors, and would harmonize the definition of employee with the common law. 

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on OSHA Compliance Assistance

On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) held a hearing on “Safe Workplaces, Stronger Partnerships: The Future of OSHA Compliance Assistance” to examine how to better support agency programs to provide incentives to employers to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses without punishing job creators.  In his opening remarks, Chair Mackenzie stated, “New industries, emerging technologies, and evolving hazards require OSHA’s compliance assistance programs to be more innovative, accessible, and adaptable than ever before. Updating compliance assistance programs calls for a collaborative approach. Strong partnerships among state agencies, nonprofit organizations, industry leaders, and other stakeholders will be vital. We must combine enforcement efforts with educational opportunities for employers and workers who want to meet their compliance obligations if we are going to protect workers.”  A recap of the hearing can be found here.

Joint Employer Legislation Reintroduced 

Congressman James Comer (R-KY) reintroduced the “Save Local Business Act,” which would clarify the treatment of two or more employers as joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act so that an entity is considered a joint employer only if it exercises direct and immediate control over the essential terms and conditions of employment of another entity’s workers.