Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EXPERT INSIGHTS—DOL to address heat stress, child labor rules in new regulatory plan: what your business needs to know, (Jul 17, 2026)

By Kathleen McLeod Caminiti, Jocelyn Campanaro, J. Micah Dickie, Todd B. Logsdon, and J. Hagood Tighe, Fisher Phillips LLP

The US Department of Labor is setting itself up for a busy rest of the year, with a bold regulatory agenda for 2026 that includes proposals to address workplace heat safety, the hours 14- and 15-year-olds can work, and tip-credit regulations. The agency also plans to finalize several rules before the end of the year according to the regulatory plan released July 3, including standards that would address joint employment and independent contractor relationships under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While many of these policy moves aren’t a surprise to regulatory watchers, they signal an effort by the Trump administration to solidify pro-business policies via rulemaking and to clear up several highly litigated issues that have cropped up under DOL’s regulations. Coupled with the recent nomination of Keith Sonderling to serve as Secretary of Labor, DOL appears poised to continue focusing on compliance assistance for businesses, rather than strict, punitive enforcement. Here’s everything you need to know about the DOL’s regulatory plan for 2026.

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Wage and Hour

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, which is tasked with enforcing dozens of laws including minimum wage and overtime requirements as well as child labor restrictions, has several major rulemakings on its docket.

The agency is preparing new proposals to address the limitations around work hours for 14- and 15-year olds as well as tip-credit regulations before the end of the year. While the details on these proposals are limited, the hospitality industry has expressed frustration with the lack of clarity on both these provisions of the FLSA.

Youth employment has been trending down in recent years, noted FP’s Hagood Tighe, co-chair of the Wage and Hour practice group. That’s partly due to interest in other summer activities like sports, said Tighe, while another part “is that the Department of Labor has gotten pretty tough in the last 10 years about minor employment and abiding by the hours and the duties that they’re allowed to perform.” As a result, many hospitality employers “don’t hire many people under the age of 16 anymore, and a lot of them don’t hire minors at all,” he said.

Hiring Teens This Summer? Check out FP’s 6-Step Guide to Help Your Business Comply with Child Labor Rules.

Whether and when tip-earning workers should be paid the lower tipped minimum wage versus the full minimum wage when doing non-tip generating sidework has been a frequently litigated issue, and the policy on where the limits are has flip-flopped over the last decade. The regulatory agenda doesn’t provide much detail about what the proposal may do. But, FP’s Tighe cautions that even if the wage division were to loosen rules around tips, many states have their own standards. “The thing to keep in mind is that when it comes to tip rules, this regulation will not trump the state laws on tip credit, tip pooling and tip sharing. Some states don’t allow the tip-credit at all.”

Where Do Things Stand With the Tip-Credit? Read FP’s primer on the state of the tip-credit.

The agency’s Wage and Hour Division is also aiming to wrap up its closely watched independent contractor rule by October. But, it’s important to keep in mind that the dates included in the regulatory agenda are largely estimates and previous administrations have missed those deadlines.

Safety

One of the biggest updates from the DOL’s regulatory agenda is where the agency stands on its heat-safety rulemaking. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking by December to address heat hazards in both indoor and outdoor settings, according to the plan. Supplemental NPRMs are issued when a proposal has been “substantially changed” from the original notice of proposed rulemaking or if “substantial time” has passed since the NPRM was issued.

The agency has been working since the Biden administration to develop a workplace heat injury and illness prevention standard that sets triggers for employers to protect outdoor and certain indoor workers from extreme temperatures. The rulemaking has drawn significant concerns from businesses who say the proposal is too prescriptive and not performance based. The Trump-led DOL held a hearing last summer and accepted more comments from the public on what the standard should look like. Until the regulatory agenda dropped earlier this month, we hadn’t heard any updates on the proposal.

Don’t Sweat. Read FP’s coverage on what’s in the rulemaking and how to keep your workers safe in the heat.

Other notable rulemakings from OSHA include:

• A proposal to update OSHA’s Lock Out/Tag Out regulations by November.

• Several interim final rules to address OSHA’s authority over retaliation claims under certain whistleblower statutes.

• An interim final rule slated for November that would address OSHA’s authority to issue subpoenas in investigations.

• A proposed first-ever safety standard for the tree-care industry is expected by October.

• A final rule to remove certain COVID-19 recordkeeping and reporting requirements for healthcare employers is set to be released later this month.

Immigration

Businesses should also be prepared for a proposed rewrite of the PERM Labor Certification requirements that could come as soon as this month. The summary provided by the administration said it would release a proposal to modernize PERM recruitment standards, tighten protections for US workers affected by layoffs, and increase compliance obligations tied to non-discriminatory recruitment and record retention. In order to sponsor a non-US worker for a green card, an employer must demonstrate that it attempted to recruit for the position but was unable to identify any ready, willing, qualified, and available US workers to fill the role. The process involves a series of advertising and recruitment efforts reviewed by the DOL.

The regulatory docket shows an NPRM targeted for July 2026, but the agenda doesn’t offer an estimate of when it expects the rule to be finalized. From the limited details provided in the regulatory agenda, DOL is signaling a more rigorous PERM process, especially around how companies recruit for permanent roles. That could potentially include higher minimum standards for recruiting qualified US workers and more attention to non-discrimination in recruitment and hiring. Those changes could also usher in more documentation requirements and more enforcement scrutiny of how openings are advertised and evaluated.

The DOL’s rulemaking comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in June it would make scrutinizing hiring preferences for foreign national workers an enforcement priority. The agency said this may include, but is not limited to, policies, programs, or practices that preference guest worker visa holders or PERM applicants.

Learn more about how to safeguard your foreign hiring process from FP here.

What’s Next?

Overall, the regulatory agenda, along with the appointment of Keith Sonderling as Labor Secretary, suggests a business-friendly environment focused on economic opportunity and compliance assistance rather than aggressive enforcement, predicts FP’s Kathie Caminiti, co-chair of FP’s Wage and Hour practice group.

The rulemaking process can span several months, so many of these potential policy changes will take time to implement. Regardless of the administration’s current stance on enforcement, it’s an excellent time to review your current workplace safety plans, as well as your hiring and compensation practices given the expected changes on the horizon. FP legal counsel is available if you need help with a DOL audit or to assist your team in reviewing wage and hour or workplace safety compliance measures.

Conclusion

We will continue to monitor developments on these rulemakings, so be sure you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips’ Insight System to get the most up-to-date information directly to your inbox. If you have any questions about this Insight or need assistance on a related issue, reach out to your Fisher Phillips attorney or any member of our Immigration, Wage and Hour or Workplace Safety Practice Groups.

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