On Jan. 20, 2017 a new presidential administration will enter the White House in the form of businessman Donald Trump. With every new president-elect, there are forecasts as to how cabinet decisions and campaign promises will affect the country. Human resources professionals, especially those employed at smaller companies, often worry about what a new president will mean to their organizations.
On top of a Republican president entering the White House, it's important to remember that conservatives will also hold a majority in both the House and the Senate come 2017. With that in mind, let's take a look at how these elections will affect businesses and their HR teams:
"Trump's pick for the U.S. Secretary of Labor is against the overtime regulation."
The overtime regulation
President Obama's updated overtime regulation is currently on hold due to a two suits filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. The decision was made on Nov. 22, 2016, a mere nine days before the regulation was set to take effect.
While the final outcome of the mandate has yet to be seen, a new presidential administration will likely stir things up. President-elect Trump campaigned on a platform of rolling back business regulations, according to the Wall Street Journal, and briefly mentioned an exemption for owners of small companies. Although the businessman hasn't made any large statements on the overtime regulation, his choice for U.S. Secretary of Labor has been vocal about his opinions.
Andrew Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants which owns Hardee's and Carl's Jr., has opposed the FLSA update. The businessman believes the regulation will reduces opportunities for workers. Puzder is also against raising the minimum wage, which he believes will hurt small-business owners and result in job loss, according to The New York Times.
Although the DOL, on Dec. 2, called for an emergency hearing, it is a slow-moving petition due to the time of year, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. The proposed schedule straddles Inauguration Day, so an expedited hearing is unlikely even though the 5th Circuit could grant that request without both sides submitting legal briefs.
The Affordable Care Act
From the beginning of his campaign, Trump promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, citing rising premiums as an element of the plan hurting the American people. Since the election decision, the president-elect has clarified on that vow somewhat, saying certain items of the ACA – including the inability for insurers to decline coverage to people with pre-existing conditions – are important.
Although completing eradicating Obamacare would be difficult, Republicans have stuck close to the following 4 R's, according to HR Dive:
- Retain: Keeping certain elements of the law, such as the pre-existing condition clause and allowing dependents to stay on a plan until they turn 26.
- Remove: Stripping federal requirements like the Cadillac tax.
- Replace: Replacing provisions that claim certain benefits packages must be offered in every exchange, to give consumers more flexibility and a bigger voice in the process.
- Reduce: There has been discussion about reducing the individual and employer mandates.
Other ideas that have been introduced over the recent years by Republicans in Congress and endorsed by President-elect Trump include the following, according to The Washington Post:
- Enabling insurance plans to be sold across state lines, which would potentially increase competition.
- Altering the tax code to allow consumers to fully deduct all health insurance premiums.
- Ensuring price transparency for medical procedures and other healthcare costs.
- Expanding access to health savings accounts that are tax free.
- Turning Medicaid into block grants to states.
- Allowing medications to be imported, enabling more competition in drug pricing.
As with any new presidential administration, only time will tell if campaign promises will become reality. While Trump will have a Republican-led Congress on his side, he will need bipartisan agreement to make major changes to laws that will greatly affect companies and their human resources teams. Stay tuned as Triton Benefits and HR Solutions keeps you up to date with new information. Check back for part 2 of this article, where we'll discuss how a Trump presidency may influence minimum wage laws and FMLA and family leave.