’Twas the Night Before … A Federal Government Shutdown. Earlier this week, it looked like the U.S. Congress had its government funding bill all wrapped up in a nice little package. But lawmakers got frosty and a bit nervous about the legislation’s post-holiday credit card bill and put the bill on ice. As the Buzz goes to publication, Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are making a list and checking it twice to see if they have the votes to keep the government open past midnight ET this evening. If the government shuts down, you can learn what happens to labor and employment agencies here and immigration-focused agencies in this article by James N. Garilas.

Biden-Era NLRB Wraps Up. With the 2021 appointments of David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox, the Biden-era National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in earnest began tilting the labor-management policy landscape in favor of organized labor. But this pro–big labor era at the Board will likely be coming to an end soon. December 16, 2024, was the last day of NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran’s term. The U.S. Senate’s 50–49 rejection of McFerran’s reconfirmation on December 11, 2024, leaves the Board with two Democrats—Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty—and one Republican—Marvin Kaplan. It also presents President-elect Donald Trump with the opportunity to quickly gain a Republican majority on the Board in 2025. But change won’t happen immediately—it will take some time for nominees to get confirmed and cases to get reversed.

Board Limits Employers’ Control Over Their Own Operations. With Chair McFerran’s departure from the Board, the regulated community is seeing the predicted “flurry” of decisions that happens when members’ terms expire. Most recently, the Board issued a decision that will make it more challenging for unionized employers to make changes to their business operations. In this case, the Board held that collective bargaining agreements must contain a “clear and unmistakable” waiver of the union’s right to bargain over workplace changes. Thomas M. Stanek and Zachary V. Zagger have the details.

H-1B Changes Finalized. On December 18, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a rule, “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers.” Brian D. Bumgardner and Marissa E. Cwik have the details on the changes made to the definition of “specialty occupation,” the codification of deference to prior approvals, expansion of the H-1B cap exemption, site visits, and more.

By finalizing the remaining aspects of the proposed rule (the first part, which focused primarily on H-1B registration, selection, and integrity, went into effect earlier this year), the Biden administration takes a step toward shoring up its high-skilled immigration policy preferences. Of course, the rule is clearly subject to review pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The incoming Congress could vote to rescind the regulation and would only need a majority vote in the Senate to do so (though Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress are razor-thin). Of course, once the CRA is used to rescind a regulation, agencies are prohibited from issuing any new rule that is “substantially the same form” as the disapproved rule. In this case, if Republicans use the CRA to rescind this rule, it could prohibit the incoming Trump administration from adjusting the prevailing wages for H-1Bs, as they tried to do in the first administration.

OSHA Finalizes PPE Rule. On December 12, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule, “Personal Protective Equipment in Construction.” Existing requirements only state that personal protective equipment (PPE) must be “of safe design and construction for the work to be performed.” The new regulations state that employers must ensure that PPE “is selected to ensure that it properly fits each affected employee.” OSHA pursued the rulemaking with smaller employees in mind, particularly women. The rule is scheduled to go into effect on January 13, 2025. John D. Surma and Savannah M. Selvaggio have the details.

For the Birds. If you think the national bird of the United States is the bald eagle, think again. Although the eagle is a patriotic symbol that we’re used to seeing on currency, government buildings, and military uniforms, the bald eagle is not officially recognized as our national bird. We have a national anthem (of course), a national flower (rose), a national march (“The Stars and Stripes Forever”), and a national tree (the oak), but no national bird. But this week, the House of Representatives passed a bill designating the bald eagle as the official bird of the United States. The Senate passed the bill earlier this year, so it now heads to President Biden’s desk. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait around owl day for him to sign it.

This is our last Beltway Buzz of 2024. We will return on January 10, 2025.