Capital Update – For the Week Ending December 16, 2022
NPPC Comments on DOL Independent Contractor Proposed Rule
What happened? National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor (DOL) in response to the Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Proposed Rule for determining employee or independent contractor classification.
Why was a response warranted? The DOL’s Proposed Rule would change the economic realities test used to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the current rule focuses on two core factors to determine worker status, the new rule would create a more complicated test with six equally weighted factors. This change would make it more difficult to classify legitimate independent contractors while causing significant uncertainty and confusion for businesses, resulting in potential legal and tax issues.
What was our response? NPPC highlighted the importance of independent contractors to the pork industry and voiced concerns about the negative impact that the Proposed Rule could have on farmers, rural businesses and the local communities in which they operate.
Codex Alimentarius Recent Meeting Updates
What happened? Dr. Trachelle Carr, NPPC’s International Technical Services Specialist, participated in two recent Codex Alimentarius meetings.
What meetings took place? The Codex Alimentarius’ 53rd Codex Committee on Food Hygiene Meeting was the first one to occur, and the second was the Codex Alimentarius Commission 45th Meeting.
Codex Alimentarius’ 53rd Codex Committee on Food Hygiene Meeting: This hybrid meeting brought people together to establish international standards that focus on the importance of surveillance, epidemiological investigations, innovation, basic and applied research and prevention, and control measures in containing foodborne pathogens.
Codex Alimentarius Commission 45th Meeting: This annual meeting took place to move forward proposed international standards discussed throughout the year within various committees. During the meeting, 500 new standards were approved. A few examples of such standards include 11 new text guidelines on managing biological foodborne outbreaks and updating food safety legislation and control systems to harmonize policies and standards across the African region.
What’s the bottom line for both meetings? The key factor of both conferences is to ensure food that is being traded is safe for consumers.
See You in the New Year
Capital Update will be in recess for the next two weeks (Dec. 19-23 and Dec. 26-30) due to the holidays and will be back to its normal schedule on Friday, Jan. 6.
From all of us at the National Pork Producers Council, we wish you, your family and friends a happy holidays!