As President Obama's White House works to make its final days as impactful as possible, The Hill takes a look at five regulations the president might still issue before Donald Trump takes the helm. The new regs could result in new labor rules, consumer protections, energy efficiency standards and humane treatment of animals. Lydia Wheeler reports:
Occupational safety
The Labor Department's Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is planning to release a rule that would reduce by 10 times the amount of beryllium that workers can be exposed to on the job. [...]
Forced arbitration
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is expected to finalize a rule it proposed in May that would prevent credit card companies from mandating that consumers go to arbitration over disputes. Often slipped into the fine print, the arbitration clauses prevent consumers from bringing a suit against a company over fees or practices or from joining a class-action lawsuit. [...]
Incentive-based compensation
Financial regulators are poised to finalize rules that would delay compensation to Wall Street executives that are based on profits made from risky short-term bets. The joint rule coming from six federal agencies is one of the biggest enforceable actions left to implement under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. [...]
Stoves
The Department of Energy is expected to finalize new energy efficiency standards for residential gas and electric stove tops and ovens that are designed to reduce energy costs and help with climate change.
Organic meat
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working on new standards for how animals should be treated before meat is sold as “certified organic.”
To qualify for the label, livestock would have to live in an environment that allows for its natural behaviors and be kept in an appropriate shelter.