The Inflation Reduction Act was passed on Friday, and some lawmakers are not satisfied with the labor provisions that were included. Some Democrats have expressed that additional funding for the NLRB and civil monetary penalties for unfair labor practices should have been included in the act. Meanwhile, some Republicans have expressed concerns about the existing labor policies included in the act, such as the prevailing wage provisions. In addition to this, the Biden administration's labor agenda also seeks to clarify the definitions of employee and independent contractor found in the Fair Labor Standards Act. This summer, there have been five cases highlighted by the Labor Department regarding worker misclassifications where nearly 1,000 workers were incorrectly classified as independent contractors.
See "Labor Policies: The Inflation Reduction Act and Worker Misclassifications Under the Fair Labor Standards Act", Paige Smith, Rebecca Rainey, Austin Ramsey, Bloomberg Law, August 15, 2022