Wait, What? Administration Now Designates “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” as Not Economically Significant

In a sign that the Obama Administration may be preparing to rush the publication of the FAR Council’s final rules implementing the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” executive order so as to avoid timing problems associated with the Congressional Review Act, the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (responsible for reviewing the rules before sending them to the FAR Secretariat for publication, discussed here) now lists the new rules as not “Economically Significant.” That determination allows the administration to avoid the requirements under EO 12866 to provide a more detailed assessment of the likely benefits and costs of the regulatory action, but it reverses the administration’s prior designation of these burdensome new compliance and reporting obligations, and it seems at odds with the designation of other rules, such as “Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion” and “Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Dehumidifiers,” as Economically Significant.