Policy Week In Review – April 24, 2026

At a Glance

The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal legislation, regulations, and congressional activity affecting the workplace.

DOL Announces Proposed Rule on Joint Employment 

On April 22, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The NPRM proposes separate analyses to assess horizontal and vertical joint employment scenarios given the inherent differences between those business relationships. Additionally, the proposal advises that a potential joint employer’s “actual exercise of control” is more relevant than “reserved control” for determining vertical joint employer status. It also proposes to exclude from consideration factors relevant for assessing employee status (as opposed to an independent contractor) when making a joint employment assessment. Public comments are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 22, 2026. Read here for the Department’s Q&A. Read here for Littler’s analysis. 

Bipartisan “Know Your Labor Rights Act” Legislation Introduced in House and Senate 

On April 21, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Riley Moore (R-WV) and Marie Gluesenkamp (D-WA) introduced the “Know Your Labor Rights Act,” which would require all employers to post and maintain notice to employees and new hires of their labor rights in the workplace. The bill is endorsed by the Teamsters and is a pillar of Senator Hawley’s pro-worker framework.

Related to Senator Hawley’s framework, there is a concerted effort to advance companion legislation to Hawley’s “Faster Labor Contracts Act” (imposing binding interest arbitration, another key pillar of Senator Hawley’s framework) in the House via a Discharge Petition filed by Representative Donald Norcross (D-NJ). The legislation, (H.R. 5408), is sponsored by Representatives Pete Stauber (R-MN) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) and currently has 82 cosponsors – 65 Democrats, 17 Republicans. In an effort to bypass committee consideration and force a House floor vote on the legislation, Representative Norcross filed the Discharge Petition (H.Res. 1140) on April 20. As of this writing, 145 House members have signed on, with Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) as the sole Republican signature. It is unclear at this time whether the effort will reach the required 218 signatures to advance to the House floor for a vote. 

WIOA Reauthorization Approved in Committee 

The House Committee on Education and Workforce approved legislation on April 21, titled “A Stronger Workforce for America Act,” which would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA, the nation’s primary workforce development law, has not been reauthorized or updated since its expiration in 2020, although it has continued to receive funding. As previously reported, the bill makes important reforms, including improvements to federal labor market reporting data; support for virtual employment services; dedicated funding for upskilling workers through individual training accounts and on-the-job learning; and metrics to strengthen accountability to hold state and local workforce boards responsible for delivering positive outcomes for workers and job seekers. However, this bill is a departure from previous bipartisan efforts in that it transfers all adult education and family literacy functions from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor, which is in alignment with the Trump administration’s goals of reducing the footprint of the Department of Education. This move is not favored by the House minority. As such, it is uncertain if the bill will pass the House.