https://www.uschamber.com/employment-policy

Employment Policy

The Employment Policy division regularly interacts with Congressional staff, numerous Federal agencies and many national coalitions (some of which are chaired by the Chamber) to help define and shape national labor, immigration and employee benefit policy.

Employment Policy Priorities

Commonsense Immigration Reform

Commonsense immigration reform will boost economic growth, create jobs, and spur innovation and entrepreneurship. It will also reaffirm America's legacy of being an open and welcoming country where anyone who works hard and follows the rules can achieve his or her dreams.

Throughout our history, America has attracted and welcomed the most talented and the hardest working people to our shores. But today our immigration system is broken and failing to meet the needs of our society, our economy, our businesses, and our workers.

To help advance comprehensive reform that includes border security, the Chamber's Employment Policy division provides leadership to a broad coalition including businesses, labor, law enforcement, the faith-based community, and various immigrant-advocacy organizations.

Though there may be several different approaches to fixing our system, meaningful and lasting reform can only be achieved through bipartisan legislation, which is the ultimate goal of the Chamber’s immigration program.

Learn more about what the Chamber is doing on immigration.

Department of Labor

The U.S. Chamber believes the Department of Labor (DOL) must partner with both employers and employees to effectively advance the goals of the wide array of laws it administers and enforces.

The DOL oversees such diverse areas as minimum wage, overtime, worker safety in general industry as well as mining, federal contractor compliance with affirmative action requirements, employee leave requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act, labor union financial accountability, and contractor wage payments on federally funded or supported construction and service jobs. Employees depend on the Department to safeguard their rights, while employers look to the DOL for information and guidance on meeting their obligations.

The Employment Policy Division works with many of DOL’s component agencies including the Wage and Hour Division, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs, the Office of Labor-Management Standards, and the Office of the Solicitor.

Learn more about what we're doing on DOL issues.

Restoring Common Sense at the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created in 1935 to be a neutral arbiter in the field of labor law.

During the Obama administration, however, the agency engaged in an aggressive one-sided agenda aimed at growing labor unions at any cost. Rather than act as an impartial referee, it issued many decisions that overturned decades of well settled precedents intended to give unions an advantage in organizing campaigns.

Restoring the appropriate balance to labor law will provide much-needed stability, and certainty for American businesses and workers.

Fortunately, the NLRB has new members, including Chairman John Ring and a new General Counsel, who have already begun the work of revisiting Obama-era precedents.

Learn more about what we're doing on issues related to NLRB.

Protecting Retirement Security

The Employment Policy Division is committed to protecting the retirement security of America’s workforce, and promoting policies that will continue the success of the private retirement system.

We seek to maintain a sound legal framework that encourages employers to offer retirement plans, address the demographic challenges facing the system, and encourage innovation and flexibility to help the private retirement system reach additional types of workers.

Learn more about what we're doing on retirement issues.

State Labor Issues

Advocates of increased regulation are not satisfied with just pursuing action at the federal level. They have also taken their agenda to state and even local government.

In the process, they are creating a patchwork of different standards that multi-state employers can find difficult to meet. Significant state and local regulations include:

- Minimum Wage
- Misclassification
- Wage Theft
- Paid Leave
- Regulating Pre-Employment Inquiries
- Equal Pay
- Labor Peace
- Predictive Scheduling
- Opportunity to Work
- Overtime

Learn more about what we're doing on the state level.

Combating Human Trafficking

Click here to learn more about what we’re doing to combat human trafficking.

Recent Activity

EventApr 05, 2019 - 9:00am to 12:00pm

The Immigration Landscape: Addressing Today's Challenges, Exploring New Solutions

Join us on Friday, April 5th for a discussion on the current immigration policy landscape. The event will feature three panels discussing several key issues, including legislative relief for Dreamers and long-term TPS recipients, the impact of regulatory and administration actions on the American business community, and examining innovative ideas to improve our country's immigration system.

ArticleApr 04, 2019 - 4:00pm

The SECURE Act: A Way Forward on Retirement Security

On April 2, 2019, the House Ways and Means Committee favorably reported out H.R. 1994, the SECURE Act of 2019...

Chantel Sheaks

ArticleApr 03, 2019 - 2:00pm

Wet floor sign reads: "Caution: Vague joint employer standard"

DOL Releases Joint Employer NPRM

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on April 1 released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address...

Sean P. Redmond

ArticleApr 02, 2019 - 9:45am

"Retirement account" spelled out in Scrabble tiles.

House Ways & Means Committee Works to Advance Retirement Security

This morning, the House Ways and Means Committee will markup the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act...

Glenn Spencer

Letters to CongressMar 29, 2019 - 11:45am

Letter to DHS and DOL requesting H-2B Cap Relief

ArticleMar 20, 2019 - 9:30am

NLRB Reevaluates Concerted Activity

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has had its hands full after a three-member Republican majority took over...

Sean P. Redmond

Press ReleaseMar 06, 2019 - 9:30am

U.S. Chamber Statement for the Record on House Judiciary Committee Hearing Entitled “Protecting Dreamers and TPS Recipients”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement for the record in anticipation of today’s hearing entitled “Protecting Dreamers and TPS Recipients” being held in the House Judiciary Committee...

Above the FoldFeb 08, 2019 - 3:30pm