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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Trump’s Labor Department Cancels State Unemployment Modernization Grants
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Labor is terminating hundreds of millions in grant funding to states for modernizing and improving state unemployment systems--including preventing fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as promoting access for people in rural areas, for workers with disabilities, for older workers, and for workers without college education.
Impact:
States have already entered into contracts to modernize and improve their UI programs based on these grants that were obligated well before the Trump administration. States could lose as much as $500 million in funding and would have to cancel projects or pay the money out of state coffers, if available, in order to satisfy their contractual obligations with vendors.
DOL Announces Wage and Hour Division Appointees
All of the high-level appointees in the Wage and Hour Division come from business and management-side experience.
Impact:
This foreshadows the administration's intent to have the Department of Labor cater to the business community, rather than to the workers it's supposed to serve.
DOL Announces Wage and Hour Division Appointees
This foreshadows the administration's intent to have the Department of Labor cater to the business community, rather than to the workers it's supposed to serve.
The Supreme Court Signals Reversal of Decades of Legal Precedent by Allowing Trump to Fire Independent Agency Board Members
The Supreme Court has refused to reinstate independent regulators fired by the Trump administration in a temporary order that forecasts the likelihood of reversal of 90 years of legal precedent to protect independent regulatory bodies.
Impact:
While the court order is technically temporary and the case will continue to play out in the lower courts, it is a strong endorsement of presidential authority by the Supreme Court, despite decades of legal precedent and a contradiction of statutes enacted by Congress that bar the president from firing members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protections Board without cause.
EEOC Issues Memo Declaring It Will Stop Funding or Participating in Joint Investigations of Discrimination on Behalf of Transgender People and Investigations Involving Disparate Impact Liability
Although the Supreme Court has ruled that discrimination based on gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and although disparate impact liability is embedded in that statute by Congress, the EEOC is removing funding and cooperation from state agencies that investigate and prosecute these claims.
Impact:
This administration and its appointees continue to disregard the clear language of congressionally authorized statutes and the Supreme Court as it attempts to undo civil rights protections for people who do not conform to their beliefs about who should be protected.
Trump Administration Reverses Course and Reinstates Some Federal Health Workers
After pressure from labor groups and members of Congress, the Trump administration has reinstated around one-third of the nearly 900 workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) who were facing layoffs.
Impact:
Despite the reversal for some NIOSH workers, many note that the cuts to NIOSH continue to jeopardize the safety of workers across many industries. NIOSH is the leading federal agency providing guidance and conducting research on the prevention of workplace injury, illness, and death.
U.S. Department of Education Moves to Strip Discrimination Legal Protections from Pregnant and LGBTQ+ Staff
In an attempt to comply with Trump's executive order on "defending women from gender ideology extremism," the U.S. Department of Education wants to remove the words pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity from the provisions in its union contracts guaranteeing fair promotions and protections against harassment while working in the agency.
Impact:
Pregnant and LGBTQ+ workers are under attack from this administration, and it's clear that the Department of Education has no intention of protecting the civil rights of its employees who are pregnant or LBGTQ+. This is also strong indication that it won't protect the rights of educational employees or students who share these characteristics as well.
Trump Nominates Brittany Panuccio to EEOC
President Trump nominated Brittany Panuccio to be a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Panuccio is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida. Previously, she worked in the first Trump administration in the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos and in the Department of Justice supporting the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Impact:
At Trump’s direction, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas has stopped enforcing civil rights laws that protect trans workers, attacked diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and removed critical resources from the commission’s website. The commission, designed by Congress to be independent and bipartisan, is currently deadlocked at 1-1 due to Trump’s unprecedented firing of Democratic commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels. If Pannucio is confirmed, the EEOC would have a 2-1 Republican majority and the quorum Lucas needs to take votes that could further roll back civil rights in the workplace.
NIOSH Lays Off Most of Its Remaining Staff
The Trump administration is attempting to shut down this important agency, which conducts scientific research into workplace health and safety issues and oversees certification of health and safety equipment.
Impact: Employers and other state and federal agencies rely on NIOSH's research to keep workers safe from occupational hazards. Without NIOSH, workers will be endangered on the job without known ways to mitigate or prevent those dangers.
Trump Proposes Slashing One Third of the Department of Labor’s Budget for FY2026
Under Trump’s budget proposal for FY2026, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) discretionary budget would shrink from its current $13.3 billion to $8.6 billion for next fiscal year.
Impact:
The bulk of the budget cuts would come from the elimination of the Job Corps program and overhauling DOL’s grant programs. The Job Corps program supports young Americans age 16-24 who are not working or currently in school and lack access to the skills needed for gainful employment. The DOL's grants cover areas including skills training, workforce development, and support for vulnerable populations.