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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Judge Rules Trump Administration Must Share Federal Worker Reduction of Force Plans
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Trump administration cannot conceal internal reduction of force plans from federal worker unions challenging them in court.
Impact:
Unions represented federal workers have argued they must be able to view plans from the Trump administration for reductions in force in order to pursue legal challenges to mass-layoffs across different federal agencies. The case is in response to Trump's Executive Order 14210, which instructed agency heads to prepare for large-scale reductions in force.
DOL Allocates $98 Million To Expand Youth Pre-Apprenticeship Programs
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) offers $98 million in grant funding for projects that support academic instruction, occupational skills training, and job placement services with an emphasis on creating pathways to registered apprenticeships for youth ages 16-24.
Impact:
The funding will be offered through the YouthBuild program, and is targeted to support individuals 16-24 that are not currently employed or enrolled in school.
U.S. Department of Transportation Makes Renewed Deferred Resignation Offer to Employees
The U.S. Department of Transportation renewed its efforts to reduce its workforce through deferred resignation. This initiative targeted workers in the agency’s Office of Civil Rights and the Maritime Administration.
Impact:
The civil rights office enforces federal employment civil rights laws internally across the department, and externally for beneficiaries of the agency’s financial assistance. As part of a broader trend of degrading civil rights enforcement across the federal government, targeting this office for deferred resignations will likely lead to lower capacity to address instances of employment discrimination in these areas.
Trump Administration Attempts Again to Dissolve TSA Workers’ Union Contract
For a second time, the Trump administration moved to unilaterally cancel the 2024 collective bargaining agreement between the Transportation Security Administration and its baggage screening workers. The administration’s first attempt to do so earlier this year was blocked by a federal judge.
Impact:
The agency hasn’t appealed the preliminary injunction issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman of the Western District of Washington. Instead, it is claiming a national security exemption. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents the workers, said that the union “will continue to challenge these illegal attacks on our members’ right to belong to a union” and noted that weeks earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had been praising the dedication of TSA workers who had continued to work unpaid while the government was shut down.
Federal Judge Indefinitely Blocks Mass Layoffs of Federal Workers During Shutdown
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who had issued the emergency order to block the Trump administration from issuing new layoff notices or implementing layoff notices during the government shutdown, indefinitely barred the Trump administration from doing so by issuing a temporary restraining order.
Impact:
Federal agencies are enjoined from issuing layoff notices or acting on notices issued since the government shut down Oct. 1.
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Mass Layoffs of Federal Workers During Shutdown
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued the emergency order to block the Trump administration for issuing new layoff notices or implementing layoff notices sent out last Friday to federal workers.
Impact: The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other federal labor unions had asked Judge Illston for a temporary restraining order, saying the layoffs are an illegal abuse of power by the Trump administration.
Trump Begins Unlawful Layoffs of Federal Workers During Government Shutdown
The Trump administration has begun laying off thousands of federal workers in an effort to reduce the federal workforce during the government shutdown and pressure Democrat members of congress to accept his demands.
Impact:
An estimated four thousand federal workers across seven major departments and agencies received layoff notices on Friday, October 10. Unions representing federal workers quickly denounced the attempted firings as illegal and criticized the Trump administration for trying to use federal workers as a bargaining chip for Republicans in the government shutdown.
The Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold Backpay from Federal Employees Once the Shutdown Ends
In spite of the very clear language of The Government Employee Fair Treament Act of 2019, which Trump himself signed into law, he and his administration claim they don't have to give federal employees backpay once they return to work.
Impact:
This is the latest example of the administration using hard working public servants as pawns in their political fights. There is no basis in law, fact, or historical tradition to deny backpay.
Black Women Disproportionately Impacted By Trump Administration Layoffs and Policy Changes
Around 300,000 Black women have exited the labor force in the U.S. in the past three months driven largely by layoffs and policy changes under the Trump administration, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics and other experts.
Impact:
In addition to the mass firings and layoffs of federal workers, the Trump administration’s crackdown on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility has changed the workforce landscape in the corporate world, leading to large numbers of Black women leaving the workforce.
Unions File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Plans For Mass Layoffs During the Government Shutdown
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) filed a lawsuit today challenging the mass layoff plans the Trump administration has instructed for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the government shutdown.
Impact:
The Federal government officially shutdown at 12:01amET on Wednesday, October 1st. The lawsuit, filed on September 30th, alleges that OPM is unlawfully directing agencies to issue mass reduction of force (RIF) notices that could strip employees of back pay rights (currently required by law), violate agencies’ statutory duties, and target workers whose jobs are essential during a shutdown. The lawsuit also names as defendants the Office of Personnel Management and its Director Scott Kupor, which issued unprecedented instructions that federal employees may perform work during the federal government shutdown in order to carry out mass RIFs, in violation of the law.