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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Trump Rescinds the “Good Jobs” Biden Executive Order that Required Union Neutrality from Federal Contractors and Gave a Preference in Awarding Contracts to Companies that used Registered Apprenticeship Programs
The Biden era EO rewarded companies that recognized when workers wanted to form a union and that trained their workforces while paying them good wages.
Impact:
With the recsission of the Biden EO, companies that engage in union busting and pay low wages to their trainees will now have an advantage in securing federal contracts.
Trump Rescinds Biden-era Executive Order Mandating that All Federal Contract Workers are Paid at Least $15 per hour
Federal tax dollars, which pay for federal contract employment, shouldn't be used to create poverty level jobs. Federal contractors who work in concessions, janitorial services, parks services, and other important jobs, no longer have a guarantee of at least $15 per hour.
Impact:
This order will likely result in lower pay for federal contract workers.
Trump Administration Dismantles Key Civil Rights Enforcement Offices Across Agencies
The Trump administration is weakening civil rights and antidiscrimination enforcement by dismantling crucial civil rights offices across agencies that oversee and enforce these rights and protections for workers.
Impact:
In violation of federal law, this dismantling furthers the Trump administration’s stated goal of eliminating the internal and external civil rights functions altogether of the federal government. The in-agency equal opportunity offices are mandated by law to ensure that employees receive equal opportunity “regardless of race, sex, national origin, color, religion, disability or reprisal for engaging in prior protected activity.” These efforts would greatly hinder the ability of the Department of Labor’s contract compliance office to ensure large contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Deloitte, and many of Elon Musk's companies are abiding by fair pay and hiring practices for workers.
U.S. Department of Labor Moves to End Legal Defense of Independent Contractor Rule
In 2024, the Department of Labor updated the regulation that governs distinguishing between who is an independent contractor or employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Biden administration rule returned to the six "economic realities" factors test enunciated by the Supreme Court and used by all federal courts to determine whether the worker is operating a geniunely independent business or if they are economically dependent on the employer. The Biden rule is currently in effect, but pausing the defense of it in court signals that the Trump DOL will try to return to the rule it attempted to promulate in its first administration that prioritized only the factors that made it easier to classify someone as an independent contractor.
Impact: People who are misclassified as independent contractors, as opposed to employees, generally lose out on wages, anti-discrimination protections, and social insurance protections such as workers compensation and unemployment insurance. Employers save approximately 30% on labor costs as a result of misclassification, and this results in tax theft to state and federal treasuries, in addition to the protections workers lose out on because of misclassification. If the Trump Administration abandons the Supreme Court economic realities test, it will speed the degradation of job quality and allow employers to engage in tax theft.
Trump Reverses Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers for Service Contracts Biden EO
Trump reverses Biden EO that ensured skilled workers employed through federal contracts remained in their jobs even when a new contractor took over the work.
Impact: President Biden's EO was designed to avoid job displacement for workers and reduce disruption to continued service under the contracts. The federal government benefits from well-trained experienced workers and skilled workers get to remain in their job. And workers benefit from job security.