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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Department of Education Transfers Responsibility for Grant Programs to DOL
The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education agreed to transfer funding for, and administration of, a suite of education grant programs. DOL will now administer some of the Department of Education’s career, technical, and adult education grants.
Impact:
This move comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader cuts to, and reorganization of, the federal government—which includes an effort to dismantle the Department of Education and cut its staff.
DOL is Considering Stripping Home Care Workers of Rights to Minimum Wage and Overtime
This workforce, which is largely populated by women of color and immigrants, was finally granted federal minimum wage and overtime rights in 2015.
Impact:
Despite enjoying these rights for a decade, this administration clearly has no respect for the grueling and important work done by the over two million home care workers in this country. If DOL repeals these rights, home care workers will see less pay and be forced to work longer hours, endangering their physical health and safety and possibly the health and safety of the people they care for.
Revised OSHA Inspection Program Aims to Increase Likelihood of Worksite Inspections
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated its site-specific targeting inspection program to increase the likelihood of on-site inspections at warehousing, transportation, and healthcare facilities.
Impact:
Workers in these industries face significant rates of injury, and increased employer accountability from OSHA is a welcome development. However, there are questions about OSHA’s capacity to carry out the program given the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Labor, through layoffs and resignation incentives. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has said that she has no plans to cut OSHA safety enforcement work, but workers across the agency have received buyout offers, and a significant number have taken them.
Food and Drug Administration Announces It No Longer Recognizes Federal Labor Unions and Will Not Bargain With Them
Workers in these unions, many of whom are facing layoffs, no longer have access to a grievance procedure or representation from their unions.
Impact:
The administration is trying to remove all union rights from tens of thousands of employees in this agency so it can fire them at will, contrary to federal law and their collective bargaining agreements.
Federal Court Stops the Abrupt Closure of All Jobs Corps Programs
Job Corps is a residential job-training program for young adults, including many who aged out of foster care, that serves people who are likely to have difficulty getting good jobs. Participants are housed, fed, and supported while learning important job skills, but the Trump administration sought to shutter the program immediately, which would have left potentially thousands of people homeless.
Impact:
Over 60,000 young adults depend on this program annually.
DOL Signals Intention to Change Course on Prevailing Wage Regulations
In a court filing in litigation related to its regulation implementing the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) stated that the agency is reconsidering its position on the rule.
Impact:
This could signal that the Trump administration plans to rescind or change the regulation. In 2023, the Biden administration updated the Davis-Bacon regulations, aiming to ensure that workers on federally funded projects are paid fair wages. Rolling back these updates would harm the workers building our nation’s infrastructure and disrupt projects building roads, bridges, and factories that create jobs and support our communities.
Supreme Court Allows DOGE to Access Social Security Information
DOGE staff now have access to Social Security numbers, medical records, and tax and banking information for all Social Security number holders in the United States.
Impact:
The privacy concerns are staggering, and data breaches or leaks could have drastic impacts on workers throughtout the country.
EEOC Drops Prosecution of Sheetz Convenience Stores, Which Refused to Hire Job Applicants who Did Not Pass Criminal Background Screening
Based on the legislatively codified theory of disparate impact, the EEOC and federal courts have long maintained that blanket policies refusing to hire people with criminal records disparately impacts workers of color and are therefore illegal. Trump has issued an executive order attempting to abolish disparate impact liability for discrimination.
Impact:
Nearly one in three adult workers has a criminal record. The EEOC has signaled that it will not enforce its own guidance on the use of arrests and convictions in hiring and that workers with records will get no protection from the agency.
While Peacefully Protesting Immigration Policy, SEIU California President is Forcibly Arrested and Injured in the Process
As part of its efforts to forcibly stop peaceful protest against immigration policies, this administration arrested a California labor leader, trying to chill his and others' right to assemble and protest.
Impact:
The militarization of the response to the protests in California is an attempt to scare people and organizations out of exercising their First Amendment rights.
DOL Secretary Chavez-DeRemer Announces Plans to Cut DOL’s Workforce by an Additional 4,000 People
When asked how such a gutted staff could adequately enforce the laws it is charged with, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer stated they will focus more on "compliance assistance" to make sure employers are followoing the law.
Impact:
Compliance assistance may work for employers of good will, who usually are following the law anyway, but it does not compel low-road employers into obeying the law the way that strategic and strong law enforcement does.