WASHINGTON (AP) — With Thomas Perez now confirmed as head of the Labor Department, the agency is expected to unleash a flurry of new regulations that have been bottled up for months.
Some long-awaited rules could affect the disabled and increase wages for home health care workers.
"The general view of the business community is that there will be an activist, enforcement agenda," said Michael Lotito, a San Francisco lawyer who represents employers in labor disputes. "That means there are going to be more lawsuits and the regulatory agenda is going to be alive and well."
In many cases, the pending rules have languished for two years or more, stalled by election-year politics and the delay in installing Perez as labor secretary. Republicans who opposed Perez say his record as head of the Justice Department's civil rights division was one of ideological activism. But labor and workplace advocates call Perez a champion for workers' rights.
"American workers have an advocate in the Labor Department who will protect and defend workers' rights — from collective bargaining to workplace safety to retirement security," said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The Senate confirmed Perez last month on a party-line 54-46 vote, part of a deal in which Republicans agreed to end stalling tactics over several of President Barack Obama's nominees.
