Ben Penn
Bloomberg Law
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Ben:
Big US Cities Lack Chief Federal Prosecutors Amid Crime Concerns
Seven of the 10 largest American cities and just over half of the 94 federal court districts overall lack Senate-confirmed US attorneys amid concerns over rising crime. → Read More
Deadlines, Costs Raised in White House OSHA Covid Rule Meetings
Employers and unions meeting with White House staffers want to know who pays for testing and how quickly businesses must comply with OSHA’s impending Covid-19 shot-or-test standard. → Read More
Business Groups Urge OSHA to Let Them Have Say in Vaccine Rule
Dozens of industry lobbying organizations are urging the U.S. Labor Department’s workplace safety agency to accept their input as regulators write an emergency rule to implement President Joe Biden‘s call for an employer vaccination mandate. → Read More
Labor, Gig Companies Near Bargaining Deal in N.Y.
New legislation creating collective bargaining rights for gig-economy workers is poised to be introduced in New York State in the coming weeks, according to the president of the Transport Workers Union. If passed, the proposal would represent the fulfillment of a long-sought goal for companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.: a compromise that stops short of making workers into full… → Read More
Biden Axes Trump Gig-Worker Rule, Favoring ‘Employee’ Model (4)
The Biden administration canceled a signature Trump-era rule that would’ve eased businesses’ ability to legally consider workers as independent contractors, a rollback the U.S. Labor Department said was necessary to broadly extend wage protections while cracking down on employer abuses. → Read More
Labor Dept. to Relax Obama Pay Bias Policy, Hand Reins to Businesses
The Trump administration plans to ease the way it reviews federal contractors for pay discrimination by letting businesses help shape those investigations, two sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg Law. → Read More
Mulvaney, Acosta Override Regulatory Office to Hide Tips Rule Data (1)
Labor Department leadership convinced OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to overrule the White House regulatory affairs chief and release a controversial tip-sharing rule without data showing it could allow businesses to skim $640 million in gratuities. → Read More
GOP Strands Labor Dept. in Tip Pool, as the Left Swarms
Republicans and most of the business community are so far leaving the Labor Department to fend for itself in the battle over a tip sharing proposal that’s emerged as the most controversial workplace policy move of the Trump era. → Read More
Democrats Want Answers From Labor Dept. on Tip Sharing Secret
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and other leading Democrats are calling on the Labor Department to halt its new tip sharing proposal and explain why the DOL didn’t tell the public about an internal analysis showing the move could cost workers billions of dollars. → Read More
Labor Dept. Ditches Data on Worker Tips Retained by Businesses
Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that showed employees could lose out on billions of dollars in gratuities, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law. → Read More
Labor Dept. Ditches Data Showing Bosses Could Skim Waiters’ Tips
Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that showed employees could lose out on billions of dollars in gratuities, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law. → Read More
Labor Board Looks to Settle McDonald’s Joint Employer Case
The National Labor Relations Board is looking to settle a high profile lawsuit against McDonald’s USA LLC in which board attorneys previously said the fast food giant should be on the hook for possible labor violations by franchisee restaurant owners. → Read More
Trump’s Labor Secretary Plays It Safe as Judgeship Talk Swirls
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is keeping a low profile in this first year in office, possibly because he has his eye on another job. → Read More