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.
Search tracker
Trump Admin Issues 25K Buy Out Offer In Latest Attempt to Shrink The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Workforce
HHS workers supposedly have until March 14th to accept or reject a $25,000 buy-out offer to resign, as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signals plans for deep cuts to the department.
Impact:
The offer was sent to over 80,000 workers across HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and comes after the Trump administration’s previous executive order aimed at an aggressive and seemingly at times illegal “reduction in force” of the entire federal government and it’s workforce.
Department of Labor Probationary Workers Are Reinstated
120 previously fired probationary workers at USDOL are reinstated, according to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Union.
Impact:
The probationary firings affected the department’s Women’s Bureau, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Disability Employment Policy, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Several unions have challenged the probationary firings in court and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) recently orders the reinstatement of previously fired probationary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) workers.
The Department of Homeland Security declared that it is ending the collective bargaining agreements it has with the Transportation Safety Administration, attempting to gut worker protections for TSA union members
The CBAs provide for good pay, benefits, and due process in the case of discipline or discharge. Recent improvements in the pay and benefits have been credited with improving the morale and retention of TSA employees.
Impact:
If this order stands, it would void the union rights and terms of the CBAs for approximately 47,000 workers.
Trump issues an Executive Order denying public service loan repayment to employees of nonprofit organizations that the administration believes are doing “improper” or “illegal” work
This order is a clear violation of the First Amendment in that it will deny loan repayment based on speech and expression that the current administration disagrees with.
Impact:
The public service loan forgiveness program, which is authorized by Congress, is an important program that encourages people to engage in public service careers regardless of educational debt. Many people have accepted jobs based on the promise of loan repayment and this could cause them to leave public service as well as discourage others from entering public service.
Trump administration prepares to lay off 80,000 employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
The VA served over 9 million veterans last year, providing the highest level of care and services in its history. This order would effectively rescind all of the growth in the agency over the past four years, as the VA staffed up to handle the increase in veterans needing care and the obligations under the 2022 PACT Act, which provided care for veterans harmed by burn pits.
Impact:
More than 25% of VA staff is comprised of veterans, who provide important medical and mental health care to the veterans of our armed services.
The IRS is planning to reduce its workforce by half
Between attrition, lay-offs, and buyouts, the IRS is preparing to reduce its workforce by 90,000 people.
Impact:
Former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen states that this decrease in staff would render the IRS "dysfunctional." Moreover, 56% of the IRS workforce are people of color, and 65% are women.
Trump Admin Rescinds Guidance on Mass Firings of Probationary Federal Workers
On March 5th, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shared updated guidance making it clear that that agencies have ultimate decision making for firing workers, in contradiction to an earlier OPM memo seemingly directing agencies to fire probationary workers.
Impact:
The earlier memo led to tens of thousands of federal workers with probationary status being fired across many agencies. This updated memo comes in response to a federal judge ruling last week that OPM’s guidance on firing probationary workers was outside of OPM’s legal authority. At least one agency, the Department of Labor, has reinstated fired workers in response to the judge’s ruling.
Trump Administration DOL Appeals Blocked Overtime Rule Decision
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Labor (DOL) has appealed a federal court decision that had blocked the 2024 overtime rule.
Impact:
The Biden era DOL revised overtime rule went into effect in July 2024 and expanded overtime eligibility for employees by raising the salary threshold required for an employee to qualify for an overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Trump administration is likely to review the 2024 overtime rule to set a lower threshold or could rescind the rule all together.
Trump Administration Demands Information About Federal Workforce Union Activities
Under the Trump administration, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has requested all federal agency heads submit information about union activities by unionized workers, raising concerns about further efforts from the administration to restrict the labor rights of federal workers.
Impact:
This is the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on the federal workforce unions that are currently battling the administration in federal court. Currently, federal workers are allowed to take part in union business during their work time, but the administration has signaled that it may no longer allow them to do so. Unions for federal workers have filed several lawsuits to block the mass firings of federal workers, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), among others.
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.