Posts tagged wage and hour
New Trump civil-service reform rule nearer to going into effect
May 7, 2025 // According to former Department of Labor official Vincent Vernuccio, who is now president of the labor nonprofit Institute for the American Worker, OPM may amend the rule or issue it as it’s proposed, which could happen within the next few weeks or months. “So, you’re talking about 50,000 federal employees—about 2% of the workforce who will become ‘at will’,” Mr. Vernuccio said. “These are still career employees,” he said. “They still have protections. They’re not changing that. It’s just that if they are in a policy-influencing position, they’re ‘at will’, and they can be removed if they’re throwing sand in gears of policy.” He added, “And if they simply don’t want to do their jobs and they don’t want to implement the policies that the people’s duly elected representatives have implemented, they can be removed.”
Backgrounder: Trump Civil Service Reform Proposed Rule
April 27, 2025 // On April 23, 2025, OPM proposed a new rule to improve accountability for federal career employees, especially those in policy roles. The rule implements President Trump’s Executive Order 14171, which he signed on his first day in office. Executive Order 14171 explicitly directed OPM to render civil service regulations implemented during the Biden administration inoperative, citing the President’s authority to manage the executive branch. Among other things, the rule would create a new job category called Schedule Policy/Career in the excepted service for policy-influencing positions, making them at-will employees and, therefore, meaningfully accountable for their performance and conduct.
Opinion Scherer: Government scrutiny of ‘gig workers’ Is misplaced
August 23, 2023 // The Labor Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the subject last year, but a final rule isn’t expected until October. Legal experts rightly criticized the proposed rule as an “ABC test in sheep’s clothing.” By this, they mean the rule seeks to mimic a 2018 California Supreme Court test known as the ABC Test, which made it more difficult for companies to hire workers as independent contractors. While it is impossible to know what Labor’s final rule will look like, final rules don’t typically differ significantly from proposed rules, making the prospect of an impartial final rule unlikely. This is terrible news for millions of American independent contractors who overwhelmingly like and support their working arrangements. For instance, a 2020 Morning Consult survey of independent contractors found that 71 percent believed “the freedom of being an independent contractor outweighs the benefits of being an employee.” A more recent 2022 study by MBO Partners found that 76 percent of independent contractors were “very satisfied with independent workers.” In addition, 84 percent said they were “happier” working independently, with 80 percent reporting that independent contracting was better for their health. These views are consistent with Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that “79 percent of independent contractors preferred their arrangement over a traditional job.”
Businesses Cry Foul on DOL Messaging for Trump Gig Worker Rule
May 8, 2023 // “My discussions with DOL investigators and the solicitor’s office out of Atlanta was exactly the same before the Trump regulations and after the Trump regulations,” McCutchen said. In her interactions with the agency, WHD investigators mentioned and recognized the agency was bound by the Trump rule, but didn’t follow the structure of the Trump test when analyzing whether one of her clients was a contractor or an employee, she said. “They didn’t say, ‘Let’s look at the two core factors,’” she explained, “or, ‘Now we’re going to look at the three additional factors,’ which is the structure of the Trump regulations. They didn’t do that.” The Trump rule has been in place for over two years, and given how it diverged from the Obama-era approach to worker classification, the department should be reaching out to field officers and offering training and guidance, said Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler Mendelson PC’s Workplace Policy Institute. Simply acknowledging the rule isn’t enough, he added.
Opinion: Amidst inflation, President Biden should refocus his efforts on expanding flexible work careers for Americans
August 9, 2022 // Why is championing flexible work through reforms so important? Independent contractors make up a sizeable portion of the 59 million freelancers in the U.S. economy, employ tens of millions of additional workers under their contracts as small businesses, and are often the entrepreneurs that grow successful new businesses in communities. Modern Worker Empowerment Act, California Supreme Court
Trucking Looks for New Owner-Operator Strategies as Independent Contractor Model is Threatened
August 2, 2022 // Motor carriers that use owner-operators in California are working to re-evaluate their operations in order to meet strict restrictions on the use of independent contractors, as labor officials at the national level push to crack down on “employee misclassification” as well. Recent independent trucker protests that brought the Port of Oakland to a crawl gained plenty of media attention, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office indicated a lack of concern. Landstar, Joe Rajkovacz with the Western States Trucking Association, oil and gas industry, two-check system, TransForce AB5 Dedicated Solutions Program, TransForce, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, and New York,
Department of Labor Rule – Coalition Letter
July 22, 2022 // The January 7, 2021 DOL rule has provided clarity to the decades-old economic realities test for the modern workforce, helping to apply determinations in light of the different types of work and technologies used to work and connect with customers today. Instead of removing this clear and sensible standard and attempting to diminish or eliminate independent contracting, we urge you to preserve paths to self-employment that allow tens of millions of working Americans, parents of children with special needs, workers seeking career changes, disabled workers and workers caring for disabled family members, and entrepreneurs growing small businesses of their own to pursue work on their own terms. Brent Wm. Gardner, Brandon Arnold, Grover Norquist, Michael J. Lotito, Greg Sindelar, Krisztina Pusok, Ph. D., The American Consumer, American Legislative Exchange Council, Lisa B. Nelson, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Andrew F. Quinlan, Robert Fellner, Heather R. Higgins, Independent Women's Voice, Bethany Marcum, Alaska Policy Forum, Mike Stenhouse, Mike Hruby, New Jobs America, Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation, Seton Motley, Less Government, Robert Alt, Steve Delie, Brian Minnich, Daniel Erspamer, Pelican Institute, Eric Peterson, Pelican Center for Technology and Innovation, Randy Hicks, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Alliance for Opportunity, Jeffrey Mazzella, Center for Individual Freedom, Douglas Carswell, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, David Williams, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Ryan Ellis, Center for a Free Economy, Phil Kerpen, American Commitment, James Taylor, The Heartland Institute, Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks, Elaine Parker, Job Creators Network Foundation, Brandon Dutcher, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Thomas A. Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste, Justin Owen, Beacon Center of Tennessee, Matthew Kandrach, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, Charles Mitchell, Commonwealth Foundation, James L. Martin, 60 Plus Association, Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, 60 Plus Association,
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
Fact Checking Secretary Walsh
June 14, 2022 // Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will make some big claims at this morning’s Education and Labor Committee hearing. Education and Labor Committee Republicans is setting the record straight: Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, multiemployer pension plans, Federal Drug Administration,
Strippers Turn to Unions After Litigation, Legislation Falter
June 3, 2022 // Ryan Carlson, CEO of Deja Vu Services Inc.—one of the largest strip club operators in the US—said seven of his clubs in California became unprofitable and were forced to close after being required to classify dancers as employees. Dancers at the remaining clubs only get part-time shifts, he said.