Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued the following statement on the Department of Labor’s notice of proposed rulemaking that would turn registered apprenticeship regulations into a woke free for all:
 
“It’s no secret that DOL has been trained like a dog to sit, shake, and roll over on command by leftist mobs. Look no further than the Department’s 779-page notice of proposed rulemaking that’s chock full of pandering buzzwords like ‘equity’ and ‘inclusion’ – telltale signs that meaningful career pathways for Americans are about to be forcefully drowned in even more woke bureaucracy. If the goal was to make an already dysfunctional registered apprenticeship system less workable and relevant to the needs of workers and employers, this proposed rule appears likely to succeed.”
 
MORE ON THE RULE: 

• Increases mandates and paperwork on employers when they already face a burdensome system.  
  • This includes preventing the use of non-compete and non-disclosure agreements, which Biden’s DOL is trying to advance through back-door schemes instead of allowing Congress to legislate. In the end employers will have little incentive to invest time and resources into building apprenticeship programs. 
• Eliminates the competency-based model that currently exists and dictates that all programs must offer at least 2,000 of on-the-job learning and 144 hours of related instruction, with the potential for higher minimum standards for certain occupations. 
  • The economy is shifting towards demonstrated skills and competencies, not how long it takes to acquire them. Yet DOL is pushing the apprenticeship system in the other direction – making it even less relevant. 
• Gives federal bureaucrats more control over what occupations are eligible to become registered apprenticeships, including allowing DOL greater ability to prevent new and innovative programs. 
• Infuses DEI into the apprenticeship system with new DEI mandates and requirements.

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