Worker Policy Watch

Your source for accurate and reliable information on how federal policies are shaping workers’ rights—and what’s at stake for working people nationwide under the Trump administration.

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EEOC Drops Prosecution of Sheetz Convenience Stores, Which Refused to Hire Job Applicants who Did Not Pass Criminal Background Screening

Based on the legislatively codified theory of disparate impact, the EEOC and federal courts have long maintained that blanket policies refusing to hire people with criminal records disparately impacts workers of color and are therefore illegal. Trump has issued an executive order attempting to abolish disparate impact liability for discrimination.
 
Impact: Nearly one in three adult workers has a criminal record. The EEOC has signaled that it will not enforce its own guidance on the use of arrests and convictions in hiring and that workers with records will get no protection from the agency.

While Peacefully Protesting Immigration Policy, SEIU California President is Forcibly Arrested and Injured in the Process

As part of its efforts to forcibly stop peaceful protest against immigration policies, this administration arrested a California labor leader, trying to chill his and others' right to assemble and protest.
 
Impact: The militarization of the response to the protests in California is an attempt to scare people and organizations out of exercising their First Amendment rights.

Federal Agencies Ordered to Stop Collecting and Disseminating Demographic Data About Legally Protected Characteristics in Their Workforces

Lack of data is the best way to disguise discriminatory hiring and employment practices. The public will now have no way of knowing the makeup of the workforces in federal agencies.
 
Impact: As the Trump administration ramps up efforts to eviscerate civil rights protections and make it easier for white, Christian people, men in particular, to get jobs, we will have fewer tools to root out discrimination in federal hiring.

DOGE Team Arrives at U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

This eight-member bipartisan commission has long sought to shine a light on civil rights issues and enforcement in the U.S. Trump has already tried to fire its chair, and now it seems that DOGE is looking for ways to eviscerate it or shut it down.
 
Impact: The Commission is an important entity that holds hearings, conducts research, and issues reports on important civil rights issues to help in the effective enforcement of our nation's civil rights laws.

EEOC Issues Memo Declaring It Will Stop Funding or Participating in Joint Investigations of Discrimination on Behalf of Transgender People and Investigations Involving Disparate Impact Liability

Although the Supreme Court has ruled that discrimination based on gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and although disparate impact liability is embedded in that statute by Congress, the EEOC is removing funding and cooperation from state agencies that investigate and prosecute these claims.
 
Impact: This administration and its appointees continue to disregard the clear language of congressionally authorized statutes and the Supreme Court as it attempts to undo civil rights protections for people who do not conform to their beliefs about who should be protected.

U.S. Department of Education Moves to Strip Discrimination Legal Protections from Pregnant and LGBTQ+ Staff

In an attempt to comply with Trump's executive order on "defending women from gender ideology extremism," the U.S. Department of Education wants to remove the words pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity from the provisions in its union contracts guaranteeing fair promotions and protections against harassment while working in the agency.
 
Impact: Pregnant and LGBTQ+ workers are under attack from this administration, and it's clear that the Department of Education has no intention of protecting the civil rights of its employees who are pregnant or LBGTQ+. This is also strong indication that it won't protect the rights of educational employees or students who share these characteristics as well.

Trump Nominates Brittany Panuccio to EEOC

President Trump nominated Brittany Panuccio to be a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Panuccio is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida. Previously, she worked in the first Trump administration in the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos and in the Department of Justice supporting the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
Impact: At Trump’s direction, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas has stopped enforcing civil rights laws that protect trans workers, attacked diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and removed critical resources from the commission’s website. The commission, designed by Congress to be independent and bipartisan, is currently deadlocked at 1-1 due to Trump’s unprecedented firing of Democratic commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels. If Pannucio is confirmed, the EEOC would have a 2-1 Republican majority and the quorum Lucas needs to take votes that could further roll back civil rights in the workplace.

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