Bush Takes a Last-Minute Swipe at Workers' Rights

Posted by Satyam Khanna, Think Progress at 5:12 AM on December 1, 2008.

The proposal is "one of about 20 highly contentious rules the Bush administration is planning to issue in its final weeks."

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The Labor Department is attempting to complete a rule which "would add a step to the lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers' health" and would thus make it more difficult to regulate toxic substances and chemicals that affect workers on the job. The New York Times notes that this proposal may violate the White House's own memorandum:

The timing of the proposal appears to violate a memorandum issued in early May by Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff. "Except in extraordinary circumstances," Mr. Bolten wrote, "regulations to be finalized in this administration should be proposed no later than June 1, 2008, and final regulations should be issued no later than Nov. 1, 2008."

The proposal is "one of about 20 highly contentious rules the Bush administration is planning to issue in its final weeks," the Times notes. For more on Bush's last-minute regulations and proposals, read ThinkProgress's report, "Bush's Backward Sprint To The Finish."

Tagged as: bush, bush administration, workers' rights, final days, bush's final days, toxic substances and chem

Satyam Khanna is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.