Winds of Change in the Post Obama Workplace

My column, "Winds of Change in the Post Obama Workplace", appears in the February issue of the AICPA's Career Insider newsletter.

>On December 29, 2008 then President-elect Obama announced his choice of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. On January 6, the first session of the 111th Congress convened. Wasting little time, three days later the House of Representatives passed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (FPA) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA), two important changes to workplace regulation. Because of the economy’s parlous condition, there had been speculation during the campaign as to the priority President Obama would give to these and other labor-supported proposals. The House has hastened to pass them, perhaps to test the President’s mettle.

>Besides the FPA and the PFA, some of the workplace-related bills discussed during last year’s campaign were changes to labor law under the Employee Free Choice Act; increases and indexing of the minimum wage; the Healthy Family Act; and extensions to the Family and Medical Leave Act. The list is controversial, and the changes will affect accounting industry firms and employees.

Read the whole thing here.