Posts tagged DOL
DOL Unveils Unified Agenda Highlighting Potential OSHA Rule Changes
September 9, 2025 // As part of the agenda, the DOL plans to revise numerous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards by clarifying provisions believed to be hindering technological and economic development. Notably, the agenda remains focused on establishing a Heat Injury and Illness Prevention standard for outdoor and indoor settings. In addition, there appears to be no effort to narrow the use of the general duty clause. Employers are reminded to review internal safety policies to ensure they align with OSHA standards, properly train supervisors and HR professionals, and engage with workplace safety OSHA counsel to proactively identify and address potential hazards.
Judicial Watch Urges Federal Probe of Minneapolis Schools’ Union Contract Over Constitutional Concerns
September 8, 2025 // Judicial Watch requests the Office for Civil Rights investigate Article 15 of the collective bargaining agreement between the Minneapolis Public Schools, Special District No. 1 (“MPS”) and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59. The contract violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Article 15 exempts teachers of color from MPS’s seniority-based layoffs and reassignments, which means, when layoffs or reassignments occur, the next senior teacher who is not “of color” would be laid off or reassigned. The contract also mandates that MPS reinstate teachers of color over more senior teachers who are not “of color.” Prior to the contract, teachers were laid off or reassigned in order of seniority, with the least senior teachers laid off or reassigned first, without regard to race or ethnicity.
Employee Advocate Supports Repeal of Biden-Backed Union Power Scheme Over Temporary Agricultural Workers
September 5, 2025 // National Right to Work Foundation comments: Biden DOL lacked authority to impose pro-union boss regulation over temporary agricultural workers
Metro Transit workers’ union is taken over after ‘corruption or financial malpractice’
September 3, 2025 // The international ATU says Local 788, which represents 2,600 bus drivers, light rail operators and associated service employees in the St. Louis area, has a budget deficit of more than $930,000.
Opinion: It’s time to put American workers ahead of big labor
September 3, 2025 // in 2024 alone, the Department of Labor documented 177 enforcement actions against unions for fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud, and falsified records. Congressional investigations have targeted a dozen unions for similar abuses, highlighting a pattern of self-dealing that diverts funds from pensions, training programs, and strike support. When union officials embezzle or racketeer, it’s the everyday worker who pays the price through diminished benefits and tarnished reputations. Perhaps most troubling is the growing chasm between union leaders’ policy stances and the actual views of their members. Union bosses, often ensconced in Washington or state capitals, pour millions into liberal causes and Democratic campaigns, even as their grassroots base leans increasingly conservative or independent. In the 2024 election, while top labor officials doubled down on Democratic endorsements and criticized Republican outreach, many union households shifted toward Donald Trump.
A ‘Copy And Paste’ Campaign? – Opponents ‘Flood The U.S. Department Of Labor With Identical Comments Against Proposed Union Rule
September 2, 2025 // During the month-long comment period, a total of 299 comments were received and all can be viewed on line. Interestingly, over a quarter of the comments (78) were submitted by “anonymous,” which is problematic for a number of reasons including the inability to verify whether the same commenter submitted multiple comments. Actually, of those who did identify themselves, 20 commenters filed 41 comments. Most disturbing, however, is that there appears to have been a concerted effort to “juice” the number of comments against the rule change.
Iron Workers Union President Kyle Chasse Pleads Guilty to All 13 Criminal Counts
August 22, 2025 // Lying and stealing—Iron Workers Local 745’s former leader pleads guilty to a string of federal offenses. "Kyle Chasse, former President of Iron Workers Local 745 (located in Kittery, Maine), pleaded guilty to 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3), respectively. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office."
Plan Sponsors Get Go-Ahead on Alternatives as DOL Shifts Stance
August 22, 2025 // For plan sponsors, this regulatory shift provides much-needed clarity and removes a significant deterrent that had been hanging over alternative investment discussions. The DOL has essentially returned to a neutral, principles-based approach that allows fiduciaries to evaluate all investment options based on their merits rather than facing special scrutiny for considering alternatives.
DOL once again set to tackle joint employer, independent contractor regulations
August 20, 2025 // Meanwhile, DOL in May told the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it would no longer defend the last administration’s rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors when making investment decisions from a lawsuit filed by several Republican-led states. In another shift, DOL in June said it would begin issuing opinion letters through five of its subagencies. The agency’s new regime published the first such letter in May on the subject of the independent contractor classification status for virtual marketplace company workers. The letter reinstated a stance DOL previously articulated in a 2019 letter that had been rescinded during the Biden administration.
It’s been 1,805 days since Chicago Teachers Union’s last “annual audit”
August 19, 2025 // The Chicago Teachers Union is required by its own internal rules to provide an audit of its finances every year. But it hasn’t done so since September 9, 2020. That means it’s been 1,805 days since the union released an “annual” audit. After unsuccessfully seeking the required audits from the union, a group of CTU members filed suit on Oct. 8, 2024. CTU tried to get the lawsuit tossed out, but the judge rejected its request. The court noted the union didn’t even dispute failing to provide the required audits.