The $1.3 trillion federal budget (good till the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30), signed by President Trump on March 23, includes targeted spending for the Department of Labor (DOL).
Key Provisions in Omnibus Appropriations Bill:
Apprenticeships:
Apprenticeship is a proven workforce development strategy that helps Americans both earn wages and learn skills. The omnibus appropriations bill includes a 53 percent increase above the Fiscal Year 2017 funding level for apprenticeship programs that will help to expand opportunities for family sustaining jobs.
Office of Labor Management Standards:
The omnibus appropriations bill includes a 5.2 percent increase in funding for the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards, which promotes democratic rights of rank-and-file labor union members and labor-management transparency through reporting and disclosure requirements for labor unions and their officials, employers, and labor relations consultants.
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service:
The omnibus appropriations bill includes a 5.7 percent increase in funding for the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), including: $5 million for the Transition Assistance Program; $5 million for Jobs for Veterans State Grants; and $5 million for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA):
The omnibus appropriations bill includes an $80 million increase in funding for WIOA, which is designed to strengthen and improve America’s public workforce system and help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.
The Department of Labor, in announcing budget details, said it looks forward to working with the nation’s governors to extend flexibility to empower those at the local level.
Tip Pooling:
The omnibus appropriations bill includes a bipartisan statutory provision to ensure that workers in the back of the house (i.e., cooks, bussers, dishwashers) can participate in tip pools in appropriate circumstances. Importantly, this same provision makes clear that employers themselves cannot keep tips.