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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Chief Justice of the Supreme Court puts a hold on reinstatement of Wilcox and Harris
The stay gives the Court time to take up the merits of the case, which will also be argued before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Impact:
As long as the stay is in effect, the NLRB lacks a quorum and the MSPB has only two members.
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Rehiring of Fired Federal Workers
The U.S. Supreme Court halted a judge’s order for the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired federal workers, holding that the plaintiffs in the case, all organizations representing federal employees and their interests, did not have standing to bring suit.
Impact:
The court halted U.S. Judge William Alsup's March 13 injunction requiring six federal agencies to reinstate thousands of probational federal workers. The impact of the Supreme Court’s decision may be more limited in this case, since five of the six federal agencies under Judge Alsup’s injunction are part of a separate lawsuit where a judge ruled that thousands of probationary federal workers must be rehired if they live in Washington, D.C. or one of the 19 states that have sued over the firings.
D.C. Circuit Court Reinstates Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris to the Merit Systems Protection Board
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. ruled that Trump’s firing of Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Harris from the MSPB were unlawful and reinstates her, setting up a potential battle with the Supreme Court.
Impact:
With Wilcox reinstated, the NLRB now has a statutory quorum of three members and can operate. However, Judge Karen Henderson in her opinion offered that only the Supreme Court can ultimately settle the dispute between Wilcox and the Trump administration.
IRS Fires 25 Percent of Its Workforce and Eliminates Civil Rights Office
The Internal Revenue Service began layoffs of some 20,000 workers. The agency’s civil rights office, which protects taxpayers from discrimination, will be eliminated.
Impact:
The cuts come during the agency’s busiest season, with the annual tax filing deadline of April 15 approaching. Experts have raised concerns that the government could see a sharp drop in revenue as individuals and businesses see opportunities to take advantage of a diminished IRS to cheat on their taxes. The IRS also plays a critical role in fighting poverty for working people by administering programs like the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Trump Administration Lays Off 10,000 Health Agency Workers, Including From Critical Worker Safety Agency
The Trump administration laid off about 10,000 workers from agencies across the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, National Institute of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Nearly 900 workers were cut from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Impact:
NIOSH studies worker safety and health and investigates workplace injuries and outbreaks of disease. The Trump cuts most strongly impacted the agency’s mine safety research and respirator approval programs as well as the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.
Trump Admin Begins Massive Purge of U.S. Health and Human Services Department Workers
Up to 10,000 U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) workers are expected to be fired as the Trump administration purges the workforce of the agency responsible in the U.S. for tracking health trends, disease outbreaks, and regulating food.
Impact:
This comes after Trump’s recent executive order attempting to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government. Last week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to remake the agency and reduce the workforce by a quarter.
Union Sues Trump Administration and Seeks to Block Trump From Stripping Collecting Bargaining Rights From Federal Workers
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court to block Trump’s executive order aimed at stripping collective bargaining rights from workers from more than a dozen federal agencies.
Impact:
The lawsuit comes after Trump’s recent executive order that require unions to stop collecting union dues and would strip federal workers of collective bargaining rights. In addition to Trump’s EO, eight federal agencies filed a lawsuit against dozens of local union affiliates seeking to invalidate existing union contracts covering thousands of workers. Ending collective bargaining rights for federal workers would make easier Trump’s goal of mass firings of the federal workforce.
Trump Admin Fires Nearly Entire Staff at Headquarters of U.S. Institute of Peace
Between 200-300 U.S. Institute of Peace workers at headquarters have been fired by DOGE, in another example of the Trump admin’s hostile takeover of federal agencies and institutes.
Impact:
The U.S. Institute of Peace has about 600 workers worldwide. The mass firings of almost the entire staff at headquarters comes a couple weeks after the Trump administration forcibly removed the institute’s president and installed an agent of Elon Musk’s DOGE.
Trump Administration Lays Off Nearly All Remaining USAID Employees
The Trump administration began the process of laying off the remaining 900 employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The layoffs will take effect either July 1 or September 2. USAID previously employed more than 10,000 employees worldwide.
Impact:
The U.S. was the largest provider of humanitarian assistance worldwide, deploying billions of dollars through multiple agencies, including USAID. Foreign aid and humanitarian organizations that depend on these funding streams cannot provide their live-saving services.
Trump Sues to End Union Contracts for Federal Workers
The Trump administrations filed a lawsuit against the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) to invalidate existing collective bargaining agreements between workers and federal agencies.
Impact:
The lawsuit comes after Trump’s executive order attempts to revoke collective bargaining rights for most of the federal workforce. Trump is asking U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, a Trump appointee, to reinterpret federal law that would allow federal agencies to rescind labor contracts. Around 32 percent of public sector workers are members of unions, which is more than five times the rate of private sector employees.