Tag: Department of Labor and Industry

Pennsylvania GOP Senate to Tackle Budget That Overspends Shapiro Proposal by $1.1 Billion

Bradley Vasoli

At first, Keystone State Republicans viewed Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget proposal with mere skepticism. This week, state House Democrats larded it with an extra $1.1 billion and passed it, making a fray between their chamber and the Republican-run Senate even more probable. 

The nearly $47 billion spending plan, approved by representatives along party lines, hikes spending by $5.7 billion over the current fiscal year, a more than a 13-percent increase. Members of the Republican minority excoriated their Democratic colleagues for rushing the plan to passage within six hours of its completion, a move they said reflected poor transparency. Representative Doyle Heffley (R-Weissport) spoke for many in his party when he called the House-passed plan a “poison pill” for Pennsylvania’s economy. 

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Gov. Shapiro’s Pennsylvania Budget Proposal Rewards Union Donors

Bradley Vasoli

Unions donated copiously to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) during last year’s gubernatorial campaign and they’ll reap a handsome reward if the legislature approves a particular item in Shapiro’s proposed budget. 

The Fiscal Year 2023-24 spending plan includes a $1,274,000 initiative to increase by one-third the number of labor law compliance investigators at the commonwealth’s Department of Labor and Industry. The text of Shapiro’s proposal expresses concern that more labor cases need to be probed and that businesses need more education on workers’ right to organize. 

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Youngkin, Miyares, and Sears Call on Northam to End State of Emergency, Relax COVID-19 Business Requirements

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam has rescinded most mask requirements for fully-vaccinated people and is expected to end all social distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, but Virginia’s GOP candidates for governor, attorney general, and lieutenant governor are calling for an end to the state of emergency and COVID-19 workplace safety regulations.

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Virginia’s New COVID-19 Workplace Standards Amount to Unfunded Mandates on Businesses

Admin

Virginia business groups are decrying the expanded COVID-19 regulations adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry, which include unfunded mandates and additional training and sanitization requirements.

Virginia became the first state to adopt temporary COVID-19 workplace safety and health standards last week through a vote by the department’s Health Codes Board, which did not consider many of the concerns from business associations.

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