Posts tagged DOL
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.
DOL moves to loosen independent contractor regulations
February 27, 2026 // The rule would replace the Biden-era “totality-of-the-circumstances” framework used to determine whether a worker was an independent contractor or an employee. At the time, SHRM said the 2024 rule “fosters ambiguity, deterring businesses from extending essential training to independent workers, a detrimental scenario for both parties involved.”
Boilermakers members call for federal probe into KC-based union’s elections
February 24, 2026 // Filed by two members of Kansas City’s Local 83, the complaint was sent to the Office of Labor-Management Standards, an agency within the Labor Department. It alleges that the union’s election system locks rank-and-file members out of the process and ensures that those in power will remain in their positions. The action comes as a trial is approaching in a federal corruption case in which several former union executives — among them ousted International President Newton Jones — are charged with allegedly scheming to steal $20 million in union funds. The union’s executive council voted to remove Jones in 2023, accusing him of misusing union funds for personal gain, including funneling large sums of money to his Ukrainian wife for work she never performed.
Illinois at near record-low union membership in 2025
February 23, 2026 // Just 13.1% of workers in Illinois were union members in 2025. Thousands of government workers have rejected union membership. Union membership in Illinois was at a near-record low in 2025, according to a release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Feb. 18.
Labor Dept deploys ‘strike team’ to California over $21B unemployment debt, fraud concerns
February 20, 2026 // In a statement, the department cited an 83-page California State Auditor report that determined the state’s UI system is high-risk, in part due to "inadequate fraud prevention and claimant service [in its employment development department (EDD)], as well as a high rate of overturned eligibility decisions in its Unemployment Insurance Program."
Taxpayer-backed teacher unions receive $390M in dues
February 19, 2026 // Since 2022, the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have together contributed $43.5 million to political organizations, including The Trevor Project, according to a report by the nonprofit Defending Education.
Feds warn Oregon, other states, on paying unemployment benefits to striking workers
January 15, 2026 // “An individual who is on strike must engage in activities that demonstrate to the state (unemployment insurance) agency that he or she is able and available for work and actively seeking work under state law,” Michelle Beebe, head of the U.S. Employment and Training Administration, wrote in a note to Oregon and other state agencies last week.
Op-ed: President Trump’s investing order puts workers first
January 12, 2026 // Trump’s executive order will help right this wrong by refocusing the advice that proxy advisors give to plan managers. So would Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) Restoring Integrity in Fiduciary Act, which would require retirement plan managers to focus solely on financial factors when making decisions on behalf of investors.
Iron Workers President Kyle Chasse to Serve 3 Years Probation
January 2, 2026 // On October 7, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Maine, Kyle Chasse, former President of Iron Workers Local 745 (located in Kittery, Maine), was sentenced to three years of probation. Chasse was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,533, a fine of $2,000, and a $1,300 special assessment. On June 26, 2025, Chasse 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 sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office.
National Education Association spends on politics over teachers
December 23, 2025 // The National Education Association admitted the following in its recent filing with the U.S. Department of Labor: Just 10% of its spending was on representing teachers in 2025. It spent nearly 4X more on politics and “contributions” than it did on representing teachers. Hundreds of NEA’s own officers and staff pull in six-figure salaries. NEA spent millions on hotels, airlines and other expenses for unspecified purposes.