Over the past three years, the retail industry, like most U.S. industries, has stared down a two-headed monster: a dismal economy and a hyper-activist regulatory environment.
Economic data in the second half of 2010 was somewhat uplifting, and suggests a slow recovery. In Washington, policymakers appear to now understand that excessive regulation breeds uncertainty, and uncertainty stifles business investment.
While many challenges remain as 2011 begins, retailers are eager to turn the page and embrace a more optimistic future.
With a partisan split now in Congress, policy decisions with broad-ranging implications on the retail industry will almost certainly emerge from the regulatory agencies. Looming particularly large are the hundreds of rule-making efforts under way supporting the implementation of health care reform and financial regulatory reform.
Ambiguities in both laws leave many critical decisions to the many agencies charged with oversight.
Additionally, unresolved legislative battles will begin anew as agencies, boards and commissions take on many of these contentious issues. The most concerning of these issues is that job-killing Employee Free Choice Act. Although it was organized labor’s Holy Grail, the pro-labor majority in the 111th Congress failed to pass EFCA. Now, the National Labor Relations Board likely will attempt to implement as many of the ill-conceived provisions as its charter allows.
Whether the issue is defining full-time employment, reining in excessive swipe fees, defending American workers’ right to a secret ballot election and a say in their employment contracts, the retail industry will be a constructive partner committed to ensuring the outcomes reflect business realities and the well-being of millions of employees and customers.