Bush Hits Deadline For "Midnight Regulations"
2008
NPR reports that on November 21, 2008, the deadline for the Bush administration to enact major changes to federal regulations before the Democrats take office expired. While Bush still has several months to serve before he leaves office, there is a law mandating a 60-day waiting period before any substantial, new federal regulations take effect.
The Labor Department's new regulations regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act, published on November 17, are an example of the Bush administration drafting new regulations that will take effect before the Democrats take office and could prevent their enactment. These regulations, which some refer to as “midnight regulations” due to their release at the end of the Bush administration’s tenure, provide leave to families of service members who are recovering from injury or illness, and for other service related activities. But another provision of the new rules is more controversial, according to NPR. It allows companies to impose rules that keep employees from using paid vacation as a substitute for the unpaid Family and Medical Leave time. Opponents of this provision, including several Democratic members of Senate, have already proposed regulations to undo this provision.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97291312
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