DOL Rule Issued in Response to 2019 Executive Order

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that the agency states will formalize its policy and requirements for issuing, modifying, withdrawing, and using DOL guidance, as well as for making guidance available to the public. In addition, this final rule addresses agency notice-and-comment processes for significant guidance, as well as for accepting and responding to petitions regarding DOL guidance. A DOL fact sheet and news release accompany the final rule issued today.

The DOL notes in both its fact sheet and news release that the final rule is a response to Executive Order 13891, issued October 9, 2019, reflecting the Trump administration’s initiative to reduce regulatory burden.  The news release states that "pursuant to the Executive Order and this rule, the Department undertook a comprehensive review of its own guidance, rescinding nearly 3,200 documents."

The official title of this DOL final rule is the Promoting Regulatory Openness through Good Guidance, or PRO Good Guidance. According to the DOL news release, it "seeks to create fairer procedures for the issuance and use of regulatory guidance at the Department of Labor."

The news release also identifies four ways in which the final rule is intended to meet its objectives.

• Providing that, for significant guidance involving impacts greater than $100 million, the DOL will provide for notice-and-comment review of the guidance
• Requiring all DOL guidance be made available to the public in a searchable database
• Allowing the public to petition the DOL on issues related to its guidance
• Limiting the DOL’s use of guidance to avoid potentially unfair conduct

This final rule is to take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.