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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USDOL Announces $30 Million in Grants for Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the availability of $30 million in grant funding available to state workforce agencies for employers to provide training for what the Trump administration considers high demand and emerging industries.
Impact:
Per the Trump administration’s announcement, “priority industries for the grants include artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, nuclear energy, domestic mineral production, and information technology. Additionally, the department intends to award at least $5 million to build a pipeline of skilled American workers in the shipbuilding industry.”
Trump Attacks on Immigrants Worsening Caregiving Crisis
Millions of Americans rely on care workers to support themselves or family members on a day-to-day basis, and that workforce includes a significant share of both documented and undocumented immigrants. There is already an increasing shortage of workers to fill these critical roles, and Trump’s attacks on immigrants of all statuses will likely exacerbate this crisis.
Impact:
Weakening our care infrastructure can have ripple effects across the economy, as losing access to care workers can force family members out of the workforce to care for aging relatives or family members with disabilities.
Nearly Two Million Americans Now Rely on Unemployment Insurance
In a sign of a weakening labor market, nearly two million workers currently receive unemployment benefits through continuing claims, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Combined with the August jobs report showing a significant slowdown in hiring, the numbers demonstrate that many Americans cannot find new jobs and are facing longer periods of unemployment.
Impact:
The data reinforces the importance of robust unemployment insurance programs that workers can access when facing unemployment through no fault of their own. And due to structural racism in the U.S. labor market, including persistent occupational segregation, Black and Latinx workers face significantly higher rates of unemployment than white workers.
Department of Veterans Affairs Terminates its Union Contracts
In spite of an OPM memo to all agencies directing them not to terminate union contracts until the litigation over these actions is final, the VA cancelled all its union contracts.
Impact:
Federal sector unions claim this move is retaliation for standing up for workers and against anti-worker policies. Thousands of workers will lose their union representation.
At Least 148,000 Federal Workers Have Left Government Service Under Trump Administration
A new report from the Partnership for Public Service found that more than 148,000 civil servants have left the federal government as of July 21, 2025. This number combines the workers who have left through firings and layoffs with those who left through incentive offers like the so-called “Fork in the Road.”
Impact:
The agencies most affected by staff reductions are Treasury (31,201), Agriculture (21,600) and Defense (20,364) - workers like IRS customer service agents, food safety inspectors, and national security professionals. It’s worth noting that participation in the voluntary incentive programs is heavily influenced by the environment of layoffs, attacks on the character of federal workers, threats to move jobs to other places, and attempts to chip away at civil service protections by DOGE and the Trump administration.
OFCCP Staff Slated for Layoffs Will Instead Be Reassigned
Some 300 federal employees at the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which oversees anti-discrimination protections at businesses that contract with the federal government, will be reassigned to other roles at the DOL. The department had placed the workers on administrative leave in April with plans to lay them off.
Impact:
Saving the jobs of these federal employees is welcome news, as it preserves the experience and expertise within the agency should a future DOL once again take up the mission of preventing and addressing discrimination in businesses that contract with the federal government. However, the Trump administration’s shameful choice to gut the OFCCP will continue to harm the 20 percent of the U.S. workforce that had benefited from its protection.
Andrea Lucas is Confirmed to Another Term as an EEOC Commissioner
Lucas, who has stopped all enforcement protecting workers against gender identity discrimination; who has dismissed a class action case of discrimination against people with criminal records; and who has threatened law firms who attempt to use legal means to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce, is confirmed for another term on the EEOC.
Impact:
With Lucas at the helm of the EEOC, we can expect the roll-back of many important pieces of guidance and the continuation of the Trump administration's culture wars, rather than any sort of even-handed enforcement of our nation's civil rights laws.
Trump Fires the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Blaming Her, Rather than the Economy, for a Weak Jobs Report.
After a monthly report on unemployment and job growth that was weaker than he would have liked, Trump fired the head of BLS, the agency that puts out factual and neutral analysis of employment statistics.
Impact:
Trump is clearly planning to replace her with a loyalist who will tell him what he wants to hear, endangering the integrity of BLS statistics which are of tremendous importance to businesses, policymakers, and labor market analysts.
Federal Appeals Court Rules DOL Must Disclose Contractor Workforce Demographic Data
Three judges on the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that the U.S. Department of Labor must release workforce demographic data of federal contractors requested by investigative journalists in 2019.
Impact:
If the administration appeals, the case could drag on further. If not, the public could gain access to workplace demographic information of federal contractors gathered by the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. This information could shed light on disparities in various companies and across the economy. Persistent occupational segregation is a feature of the U.S. labor market.
DOJ Memo Continues Trump Administration Assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo continuing the administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. It mischaracterizes these practices, which seek to remove unfair barriers and create equal opportunity for all workers, as illegal discrimination. The fact is, in a society with structural racism and a labor market with persistent occupational segregation, we need more, not fewer, practices to break down these barriers.
Impact:
Neither the President nor the Attorney General can change the law on their own, and federal law and judicial precedent continue to support programs and practices to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. But in the context of the Trump administration’s weaponization of the federal government to retaliate against private institutions that oppose its illegal actions, and news about some corporations rolling back the progress they’ve made on diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have serious concerns about a chilling effect that will unfairly leave workers out in the cold.