President signs order to limit COVID-19 enforcement actions

President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) designed to ease federal agency enforcement actions against employers attempting in good faith to comply with the host of new statutes, regulations, and guidance issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What the president’s EO covers

The president’s order, signed on May 19, said U.S. policy will be to combat COVID-19’s economic consequences “with the same vigor and resourcefulness with which the fight against [the virus] itself has been waged.” Specifically, the order called on federal agencies to address the “economic emergency” by rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from regulations and other requirements that may inhibit the recovery.

The EO suggested the agencies could “give businesses, especially small businesses, the confidence they need to reopen” by:

• Providing guidance on what the laws and regulations require;
• Recognizing businesses’ efforts to comply with the often complex regulations in complicated and swiftly changing circumstances; and
• Committing to fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication.

Other details and notable directives

Enforcement discretion. The EO asked all agency heads to consider whether to formulate, and make public, policies of “enforcement discretion.” Under the approach, the agencies would decline enforcement against persons and entities that “have attempted in reasonable good faith to comply with applicable statutory and regulatory standards.”