The Labor Department Regulation and Controversy
The Labor Department regulation, which permits local governments to enroll employees of the private sector in retirement plans unless they choose to opt out, has generated controversy. By a single vote of 50-49, the Senate approved measures that would prevent towns and their surrounding counties from creating retirement plans for employees without access to employer-sponsored plans. (Weiland, 2017). In fact, the Senate's vote to repeal the Labor Department Rule's mandate for local governments was based on the argument that the rule failed to safeguard the consumer interests of federal workers. The Obama administration proposed the law in a bid to make people come up with Individual Retirement Accounts (I.R.A's), which in most cases are overlooked (Weiland, 2017).
Importance of the Labor Department Rule
Of note, most workers do not have access to the company sponsored programs like the 401(k) program thus the I.R.A was a good way to save. According to the Labor Department rules about 13 million people were supposed to be given access to retirement programs. Indeed, the measures passed by the Senate will affect many people such as the small business owners who do not have access to the conventional 401(k) program (Weiland, 2017).
Significance of Labor Laws and the Need for Alternative Programs
Evidently, the article relates to our studies and is therefore overly significant as labor laws play a pivotal role in our country's economy and the welfare of the workers. Though the current administration has managed to reverse the Obama Labor Department rule, there are some aspects of the law that would have accorded significant benefits to those not accommodated by the 401(k) program. In most cases, not every person manages to get permanent employment as such the current administration should come up with measures that offer a program to the small business owners, and other workers who might need to save as provided by Obama's I.R.A rule.
Reference
Weiland, N. (2017). Senate Narrowly Passes Rollback of Obama-Era ‘Auto-I.R.A.’ Rule. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 14 April 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/business/labor-department-retirement-savings-account.html
