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 Administration Tells Federal Employees They May Proseletyze In their Workplaces
According to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, "During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs."
Impact:
Federal employees may now be pressured by their supervisors and co-workers to engage in discussions of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, in the workplace.
DOGE Builds AI Tool Aimed at Cutting 50 Percent of Federal Regulations
DOGE has developed an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist the administration in rushing to roll back half of all federal regulations. The tool will analyze some 200,000 regulations, determine which could be most easily eliminated, and process public comments such that a handful of employees could wipe away thousands of regulations.
Impact:
Federal regulations often exist for good reason - to protect health and safety in the workplace, prevent environmental destruction, or ensure food safety. They make the laws and authorities passed by Congress real. This tool, like DOGE’s broader project, aims to slash and burn for the sake of slashing and burning. It could facilitate further cuts to the federal workforce on the theory that their jobs could be done by AI. It also undermines the government’s legal obligation to genuinely consider and respond to public comments on proposed actions - not to simply feed them through an AI chatbot. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed to roll back more than 60 regulations, from civil rights to mine safety. More could be coming, especially if the agency unleashes an untested artificial intelligence program on the regulations that workers rely on to protect them on the job.
Census Bureau to Hire Fewer Workers for 2030 Count
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is reporting that the U.S. Census Bureau plans to hire fewer temporary workers to collect data for the 2030 Census count, which could lead to an undercounting of certain populations.
Impact:
The U.S. Census count of demographic and population data is crucial in determining federal funding for states, allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on population, and informing other governmental policies and programs. Accurate counting of the census is a civil rights issue. For example, if some states are undercounted (or overcounted), those states may be underrepresented (or overrepresented) in Congress.
DOL Will Halt Enforcement of Home Care Rule Wage Requirements
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will no longer enforce the 2013 home care rule, which extended minimum wage and overtime protections to home health and personal care aides.
Impact:
The DOL has proposed rolling back the 2013 home care rule, which would mean that employers would not be required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to pay home care workers at least the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, or pay overtime. As the process to roll back the 2013 rule continues, DOL has issued guidance for field staff to discontinue enforcement of the 2013 rule, including open cases. The comment period on the proposed rule is open until September 2, 2025.
USDA to Force Thousands of D.C.-based Workers to Relocate or Quit
The Agriculture Department is planning to relocate more than half of its Washington, D.C.–based workforce to five new regional hubs and consolidate regional offices across the country.
Impact:
The reorganization of USDA offices is part of the Trump administration’s larger goal to reduce USDA’s workforce. Workers from one of the two main buildings in D.C., as well as from several regional D.C. area offices in Maryland and Virginia, will be forced to relocate to new regional hubs at lower locality pay or leave the agency.
DOL Announces “Self-Audit” Programs in Many of its Enforcement Agencies
DOL will allow employers to "self-audit" and "self-report" violations of the law with respect to employee benefits, health and safety, wage and hour laws, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Impact:
These amnesty programs offer employers the opportunity to report their own violations of the law which DOL will settle with no penalties and no further enforcement action, providing no incentive for following the law in the first place. A program similar to this in the first Trump administration did not have many employers eager to participate.
OMB Instructs Agencies to Abide by Biden-Era Rule Requiring Project Labor Agreements on Large Federally Funded Projects
A rare pro-worker move from this administration, this instruction will continue to help make jobs created with federal dollars good jobs.
Impact:
Employers on large scale federal contracts will have to enter into pre-contract committments to enter into CBAs with labor unions.
National Association of Building and Trades Unions Releases a “Tracker” of All Federal Building Projects Being Cancelled or Held-Up by the Trump Administration
These projects are fully authorized and funded by Congress and could be putting thousands of workers in good jobs.
Impact:
As projects languish, along with the good jobs they provide, many communities also suffer from the lack of infrastructure.
Office of Personnel Management On Track to Eliminate 1,000 Jobs by End of 2025
This represents a reduction in force of more than one-third of OPM's workforce.
Impact: OPM is the federal government'ss human resources department.
Work Visas Revoked for 200 Workers at Iowa Meatpacking Plant
The Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of workers from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela at an Iowa meatpacking plant who no longer have Temporary Protected Status work authorization.
Impact:
The 200 impacted workers were given notice by their employer JBS—the largest meat processor in the world—that they are no longer employed and must leave the country immediately. The Trump administration has resumed immigration raids on agricultural facilities, including meatpacking facilities. Approximately 42 percent of workers at meatpacking plants are immigrants.