JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – President Joe Biden’s administration has withdrawn a proposed overhaul of workplace internship programs after facing pushback from business groups concerned about costs and Republican attorneys general opposed to new diversity requirements.
The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed Wednesday that it will not move forward with a proposed rewrite of the National Apprenticeship System rules. A department spokesperson declined to explain why the proposal was withdrawn.
The agency had previously cited the need to modernize a workplace training system that has remained largely the same since 2008. Registered apprenticeship programs, approved by the federal government or states, provided training and education to hundreds of thousands of workers in fields ranging from construction to manufacturing to public administration.
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The proposed rule change would require sponsors of apprenticeship programs to recruit people from “underserved communities,” which would include women, people of color, people with disabilities and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. would have required state student agencies to develop plans to promote diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility.
A group of 20 Republican attorneys general objected, claiming the proposal could have conflicted with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned race as a determining factor in college admissions, striking down affirmative action programs.
Some business groups argued that increased monitoring and reporting requirements could have driven up the costs of internship programs, while other proposed changes could have reduced flexibility and participation. The proposal would require at least 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training, which would eliminate the opportunity for earlier readiness for workers who prove competency.
The decision to reverse the rule change was welcomed by Associated Builders and Contractors, which has about 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs in 20 trades.
The proposal amounted to “a massive increase in red tape” that would have made the apprenticeship system “even more complicated and less attractive,” said Ben Brubeck, the group’s vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs.
