WASHINGTON ALERT


Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office; Jeff Hannapel & Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C.


House Approves Legislation to Overhaul the Nation’s Primary Chemicals Law


THE MEASURE WOULD REVAMP THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR DECADES AND REQUIRE SAFETY REVIEWS BY THE EPA FOR THOUSANDS OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS.


In May, the U.S. House of Repre-


sentatives passed landmark bipartisan legislation to overhaul chemical safety standards. Te measure, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2576), would revamp the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time in four decades. Te new law would require safety


reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for thousands of industrial chemicals now in active commerce and require new chemicals to be deemed safe before they are allowed on the market. It also would make more information about chemicals available for the public to see. Te bill does grandfather in some ex- isting state chemical safety laws, such as


ON THE HILL


Labor Department Issues Final Rule on Overtime


Under a final rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor on May 23, the minimum salary threshold for employees to be considered overtime “exempt” under the Fair Labor Stan- dards Act (FLSA) will double beginning Dec. 1.


Currently, workers earning more than $23,660 per year are not eligible for time-and-a-half pay for hours beyond 40 in a week if they also perform certain executive, professional or administra- tive duties.


The final rule includes the following provisions:


• Sets the minimum salary level for exemption at $47,476 ($913 per week) and the salary level for the highly compensated test at $134,004.


• Provides for automatic increases in the salary levels after three years (beginning Jan. 1, 2020),


16 | MODERN CASTING June 2016


Final Rules on Employer Wellness Programs Issued by EEOC


The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final rules on employer-sponsored wellness programs in May. The rules clarify the commission’s position on wellness plan compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)


indexed to the 40th percentile of full time salary workers in the lowest wage census.


• Allows employers to count any bonuses paid on at least a quarterly basis to employees toward 10% of the minimum salary level.


• Did not revise the duties test. • Set an implementation date of Dec. 1.


The Labor Department estimates that an additional 4.2 million workers will be entitled to overtime under the new stan- dard. The agency issued a fact sheet and technical guidance to help with imple- mentation of the rule.


and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). The final rules also work to reconcile dif- ferences between the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and the EEOC’s proposed rules relating to wellness programs, which were released last year.


The final rules confirm that wellness programs cannot offer financial incen- tives in excess of 30% of the total cost of self-only coverage (including both the employee and employer contributions). Under the rule, employers will have to provide notices with specific content requirements in connection with well- ness programs.


The EEOC will publish a model notice on its website in June. The final rules will apply as of the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after January 1, 2017.


For additional information, contact Stepha- nie Salmon, AFS Washington Off ice,


202/842-4864, ssalmon@afsinc.org.


Congress has approved an overhaul of the nation’s primary chemicals law.


those enacted under California’s Proposi- tion 65, but limits states’ authority to create their own restrictions on chemicals in the future. If the EPA fails to regulate a hazard-


ous chemical within 3½ years, states would be allowed to move ahead on their own to regulate the chemical. State pre-


emption was a key point of contention during congressional negotiations. Under the existing law, EPA has succeeded in regulating only five toxic chemicals since 1976, prompting many to decry TSCA as broken. Te current law grants EPA 90 days to decide wheth- er a new chemical poses “unreasonable risk” before it can enter the market, and agency officials noted they rarely obtain the toxicity data they need to make that decision in time. Industry groups advocated for the


change in the federal law in part to avoid a patchwork of different state rules. Background on the Frank R. Laut- enberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2576) is available at https://rules.house.gov/bill/114/hr- 2576-sa.


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