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 Recovers $259 Million in Back Wages Despite Lower Overall Enforcement Efforts
An analysis of 2025 data shows the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $259 million in back pay while at the same time closing fewer cases against employers compared to the previous year.
Impact:
According to Wage and Hour compliance action data, DOL is concluding fewer compliance actions than it did in fiscal year 2024. The Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce as well as a deregulatory policy agenda likely contributed to the reduction of enforcement actions, and many of the penalties recovered were originally levied under the Biden administration.
The Senate Confirms James Woodruff as a Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board
Woodruff was confirmed on a straight party line vote.
Impact:
The MSPB now has a quorum, which means it can take up the cases of federal employees who believe their rights have been violated, but with a Republican majority, there are worries that the MSPB will rubber-stamp the Trump administration's actions in firing so many workers.
The Senate Confirms Brittany Panuccio as a Commissioner on the EEOC
Panuccio has virtually no relevant professional experience and as she made clear in her confirmation hearing, she will be a rubber stamp for the Trump administration's attack on civil rights.
Impact:
The EEOC now has a quorum, which means it can start reversing important guidance that protects LGBTQ+ workers, people with criminal records, and other workers from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
The Senate Confirms a Number of Nominees, Including Jonathan Berry, Andrew Rogers, and David Keeling to Positions in DOL
Berry, the author of the labor and employment chapter of Project 2025, which calls for loosening restrictions against child labor, waivers of federal wage and hour laws, and an all-out abandonment of protections for LGBTQ+ workers, has been confirmed as the Solicitor of Labor. Keeling is the head of OSHA and Rogers is the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.
Impact:
All have a decidedly pro-business orientation, but Berry's views on the rights of workers are far outside the mainstream and his confirmation is grave cause for concern.
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.