Posts tagged Trump Administration

    US Department of Labor launches data visualization tool for union reporting forms, providing valuable insight on union spending

    March 19, 2026 // The data visualization tool release follows the department’s launch of a modern open data portal at data.dol.gov that is providing more transparency and efficiency for users to access data related to the American workforce. Both updates help bring the department into alignment with the Federal Data Strategy established during President Trump’s first administration.

    Union sues Trump admin. alleging workers lost jobs because they are immigrants

    March 17, 2026 // The workers claim they lost their jobs because they are immigrants. Advertisement All four worked as cabin cleaners and had what were called "Customs access seals." These seals allowed individuals, such as airport workers, to enter U.S. Customs and Border Protection security areas within the airport.

    Commentary: The Federal Government Just Moved to Restore the Owner-Operator Model – Here Is What Actually Changed, What Did Not, and What You Still Need to Watch

    March 16, 2026 // Three times in five years. That is how many times the federal standard governing whether an owner-operator is legally classified as an independent contractor or an employee has fundamentally shifted under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2021 Trump rule. The 2024 Biden rule. And now, on February 27, 2026, the Department of Labor’s formal proposal to rescind the 2024 rule and return to something close to the 2021 framework. Each time this pendulum swings, the trucking industry produces a wave of celebration or alarm depending on which direction it moved. The industry’s reaction to this latest move has been heavily celebratory — and not without reason. But if you are running a small fleet or operating as an owner-operator, the celebration needs to come with a clear-eyed understanding of what this rule change actually does, what it does not do, and where the real risk to your business model still sits.

    Op-ed: LABOR SEC CHAVEZ-DEREMER: Our plan to rescind the Biden independent contractor rule

    March 15, 2026 // In that spirit, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released a proposed rule that provides clarity to help workers and employers alike determine when a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor and when that worker is an employee owed rigorous protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In proposing this rule, we celebrate the decisions of Americans who choose to test their entrepreneurial spirit — the same spirit on which our country was founded 250 years ago.

    Social Security ordered to restore telework; EPA and NASA roll back collective bargaining

    March 15, 2026 // A provision in AFGE’s collective bargaining agreement with SSA gives agency management “sole discretion to temporarily change, reduce, or suspend approved telework day(s) for any employee(s), office, component, or agency-wide due to operational needs.” The contract also gives agency management sole discretion to change, reduce, or suspend approved telework for any employee due to their performance.

    Commentary: Trump’s labor agencies get to work for independent workers

    March 12, 2026 // Calming fears that appointing a pro-union Labor Secretary meant the Trump administration would side with Big Labor rather than American workers and businesses, the Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board are taking steps to protect independent workers and business relationships outside Big Labor’s orbit.

    Trump administration wants to streamline federal worker layoffs

    March 10, 2026 // The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s HR arm, published a proposed rule Thursday that it says will streamline the layoff process and put a new emphasis on job performance rankings rather than seniority. The new proposal will now undergo a 60-day comment period and has already faced pushback from the largest federal workers’ union, which has argued that the performance review system has been manipulated to cap how many employees receive high rankings.

    Mayor Lurie tells S.F. departments to plan for 500 job cuts as labor battles intensify

    March 7, 2026 // Mayor Daniel Lurie was already in a tough spot with San Francisco labor unions Monday when his administration delivered a sobering message: City Hall needs to eliminate hundreds of jobs. At least 500 positions are on the chopping block as the city seeks to reduce its spending on salary and benefits by $100 million, according to Lurie’s budget director Sophia Kittler. She told departments in an email that San Francisco “cannot afford to sustain current spending on personnel costs” as it works to eliminate the recurring deficits that have plagued the city since the pandemic.

    Is AEA in compliance with state payroll deduction law? National non-profit Freedom Foundation has doubts

    March 5, 2026 // Over the last several weeks, representatives from the group whose mission is to “liberate public employees from political exploitation” have been in Alabama to introduce themselves to lawmakers and like-minded groups. One of the problems they’re ready to address is what they describe as a loophole or problem with the way the AEA uses money collected through payroll deductions for political purposes. “The loophole is the fact that paycheck protection, payroll deduction ban, whatever you want to call it, relies on the Alabama Education Association certifying that they do not take any portion of that money, dues, and use it for political fights. That is absolutely false,” Freedom Foundation's Rusty Brown told 1819 News in a phone interview.