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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DOL Wage and Hour Division Releases Opinion Letter re: Family and Medical Leave Act Calculations
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division releases opinion letter to clarify application of federal labor standards for calculating Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave for correctional law enforcement workers under a “Pitman schedule” of work.
Impact:
Wage and Hour Division opinion letter FMLA2025-02-A indicates that in determining the appropriate amount of an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement, an employer may convert the workweek to its hourly equivalent in a manner that equitably reflects the employee’s total normally scheduled hours.
DOL Wage and Hour Division Releases Opinion Letter re: Joint Employment
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division releases opinion letter to clarify application of federal labor standards for joint employment at a hotel’s “members club” and restaurant.
Impact:
Wage and Hour Division opinion letter FLSA-2025-05 indicates that both the restaurant and members club are jointly liable for all aspects of FLSA compliance for its joint employment staff.
DOL Wage and Hour Division Releases Opinion Letter re: Emergency Pay for Firefighters and City Workers
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division releases opinion letter to clarify application of federal labor standards for “emergency pay” for firefighters and other city employees and overtime pay.
Impact:
Wage and Hour Division opinion letter FLSA2025-04 indicates that emergency pay for firefighters and other city employees at issue does not qualify as a discretionary bonus that may be excluded from an employee’s regular rate of pay.
DOL Wage and Hour Division Releases Opinion Letter re: Oyster Shuckers Tip Pool
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division releases opinion letter to clarify application of federal labor standards for "front of house" oyster shuckers.
Impact:
Wage and Hour Division opinion letter FLSA2025-03 indicates that employers may require employees for whom the employer takes a tip credit to share tips in a tip pool with the front-of-house oyster shuckers.
Federal Appeals Court Threatens NLRB’s Constitutionality
Trump-appointed Fifth Circuit judge Don Willet authored a ruling finding that the structure of the National Labor Relations Board is likely unconstitutional. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is among the corporations which have sued in federal court, seeking to avoid accountability for alleged violations of federal labor law by attempting to gut the NLRB’s authority.
Impact: The court kept in place injunctions freezing the NLRB’s enforcement actions against the companies, so the workers in those cases will not be made whole. The Supreme Court may soon have an opportunity to weigh in on the constitutional question, which would have huge implications for bedrock labor rights in America.
NLRB Acting General Counsel Pressures States to Halt Labor Enforcement Measures
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Acting General Counsel William Cowen issued a statement pushing states not to pass laws that would provide for state-level enforcement of bedrock labor rights. Trump has severely hamstrung the Board through the unprecedented and partisan removal of Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the agency unable to act as a backlog of hundreds of cases build up and workers without the recourse they are entitled to under the law.
Impact:
The Trump administration is trying to have it both ways – paralyzing the NLRB and insisting that only the NLRB can protect labor rights. As a result, workers across the country are more vulnerable to exploitation, retaliation, and other union-busting tactics. The law makes it clear that protecting the right of workers to act collectively in their workplaces is the policy of the United States, and the Trump administration is once again ignoring the law in favor of the interests of corporations and the wealthy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Terminates Union Contracts
USDA moved to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service. The agency claimed that the services have a national security mission and therefore workers there could be excluded from union representation under Trump’s March executive order, similar to actions taken recently at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Environmental Protection Agency.
Impact:
Some 8,000 employees responsible for food safety and disease prevention will lose the protection and stability provided by union representation. The USDA has already lost more than 15,000 employees since Trump took office, including more than 500 at FSIS and 1,300 at APHIS.
The Environmental Protection Agency Terminates its Union Contracts.
The EPA followed the example of the VA, in spite of court rulings in favor of the unions and the OPM memo directing agencies to refrain from terminating contracts with unions.
Impact:
Thouands of workers will lose their union representation.
Department of Veterans Affairs Terminates its Union Contracts
In spite of an OPM memo to all agencies directing them not to terminate union contracts until the litigation over these actions is final, the VA cancelled all its union contracts.
Impact:
Federal sector unions claim this move is retaliation for standing up for workers and against anti-worker policies. Thousands of workers will lose their union representation.
DOL Will Halt Enforcement of Home Care Rule Wage Requirements
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will no longer enforce the 2013 home care rule, which extended minimum wage and overtime protections to home health and personal care aides.
Impact:
The DOL has proposed rolling back the 2013 home care rule, which would mean that employers would not be required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to pay home care workers at least the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, or pay overtime. As the process to roll back the 2013 rule continues, DOL has issued guidance for field staff to discontinue enforcement of the 2013 rule, including open cases. The comment period on the proposed rule is open until September 2, 2025.