Posts tagged Congress
Vernuccio, Institute For The American Worker on The William Wallis for America Show
March 10, 2026 // Vernuccio, Institute For The American Worker on The William Wallis for America Show Vinny Vernuccio is the President of The Institute For The American Worker. In this interview at The Pelican Institutes Solutions Summit he talks about legislative ideas he is working on in DC to help the average American Worker.
Sixth Circuit Dumps NLRB’s Cemex Ruling to Police Elections
March 9, 2026 // Beyond negating Cemex in the Sixth Circuit, the court’s decision strikes a blow at the NLRB’s fundamental authority to set national labor policy through individual case rulings. While the board is expected to overturn Cemex after its Republican majority gets a crucial third member, the current members recently emphasized their preference for setting policy through case adjudication rather than rarely used rulemaking power. Under Cemex, the NLRB can impose a bargaining order when an employer that was presented with a valid demand for union recognition commits unfair labor practices in the runup to a vote.
21st Century Worker Act Aims to End Worker Classification Confusion
March 6, 2026 // Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the 21st Century Worker Act, a much needed practical step to clear up persistent confusion surrounding worker classification under federal law. The bill would replace the current patchwork of conflicting standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, and Internal Revenue Code with a single, clear bright line test for determining independent contractor status across federal labor and tax statutes. It also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the impact of these new standards and allows workers and businesses freedom to mutually elect worker status in cases where conventional classifications do not apply clearly.
Stacked Deck: How the NLRA Favors Organized Labor and Fails Workers
March 4, 2026 // Today we find a law of unintended consequences. The interests of the workers are often buried under legal precedents and arcane labor rules that make it hard, if not impossible, to make informed decisions regarding unionization. Moreover, the NLRA’s legal landscape is unpredictable and so complex that only the largest employers have a chance of successfully navigating it.
The NLRB will reverse the outrages of the Biden years, but workers need Congress to protect those gains.
March 3, 2026 // Workers have labored under these unjust policies for nearly a century. They deserve better. In the short run, the NLRB can help American workers by reversing the Biden rulings that strengthen unions and restrain businesses at workers’ expense. The board also could end the Biden backdoor card-check scheme, prevent unions from using harassing language, and free employers to talk to workers about unionization. But a future NLRB with members appointed by another president could reverse these policies. Workers ultimately need Congress to pass better labor laws that will last.
Déjà vu all over again as Trump administration move to protect freelancing
March 2, 2026 // Congress should take up legislation to codify a sensible standard that protects gig economy workers and settles the issue for good. Legislation to that effect, the Employee Rights Act, has been introduced and deserves congressional consideration.
Opinion: A win for 11.9 million workers
March 1, 2026 // Advocates for classifying more self-employed workers as employees are generally speaking on behalf of people who don’t want their help. Of the estimated 11.9 million Americans for whom independent contract work is their sole or main job, 80 percent prefer it to traditional employment, according to a 2023 survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Freelance Busting: ‘Absolute Stalemate’
February 20, 2026 // The nearly two-thirds of Americans who would prefer to be our own bosses need protection from this encroachment on our freedom to choose self-employment. So do the vast majority of us who are already independent contractors and wish to remain so. It’s beyond frustrating that the help we need may be a long time coming, especially at the federal level. Experts recently gathered to discuss the reality of the situation in Congress during an hourlong Federalist Society panel, where they minced no words about why the challenges in Washington, D.C., persist.
You paid $181 million for union bosses to negotiate against you in 2024, but the Trump administration is doing something about it
February 19, 2026 // Even the “usual” topics of labor-relations negotiations are not part of federal bargaining. As Molly Conway, who served as Chief of Staff to the Department of Labor in the first Trump administration, wrote in a primer for the Institute for the American Worker: Management rights and any matters “specifically provided for by Federal statute” are not bargainable. This includes pay, health insurance, retirement, and certain workplace insurance (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance), among others. [citations omitted]
OPM’s Final “Schedule Policy/Career” Rule is Published
February 17, 2026 // On February 6, 2026, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized its rule, Improving Performance, Accountability, and Responsiveness in the Civil Service, aka the “Schedule Policy/Career” rule, for federal employees in policy-influencing positions. Roles under this designation will be merit-based but at will and filled by presidential administrations instead of through the civil service system so that agencies can act quickly when serious performance or conduct failures arise. The rule takes effect March 9, 2026.