Labor and Employment After the First 100 Days of the Trump Administration

Whenever a new administration moves into the White House, the yardstick used to measure the start of the presidency is the first 100 days. The 100-day milestone often reveals the priorities of the new administration and what to expect from the government for the immediate future. 

Through a series of Executive Orders (EOs), Agency Guidance, and statements by members of the administration, President Donald Trump has clearly identified and begun acting on the identified priorities. The focus of the administration’s labor and employment actions have been 1) eliminating Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and 2) Affirmative Action initiatives; 3) limiting gender-identity protections; and 4) eliminating the use of disparate impact liability for employers whenever possible. The President has also stated that he intends to create incentives for expanding training and apprenticeships for manufacturing-related work.  

PRINTING United Alliance has been tracking the administration’s work involving labor and employment in a series of articles:  

In addition to using these methods to act on labor and employment policy, President Trump fired members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that were appointed by former President Joe Biden. These personnel changes left the EEOC and NLRB without a quorum. No significant business can be conducted by the EEOC nor the NLRB until new appointees are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to create a quorum. 

A federal district court ruled that NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox should be reinstated, and the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the district court's decision. However, the administration has refused to reinstate her. It is unclear how this standoff will be resolved and whether the administration will simply not act or will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

In a significant move, the NLRB Acting General Counsel has withdrawn memoranda issued by the prior General Counsel. The withdrawn memoranda had taken an expansive view of the law and favored workers. These actions are a signal that the new administration will break from the prior administration’s labor-friendly policies. 

Compliance Tips 

Because the government will be interpreting and enforcing regulations differently than it has for more than a decade, it will be important for employers to avoid compliance pitfalls. 

First, formal DEI programs are in disfavor and will be carefully scrutinized by regulators under the new policy. Candidate searches to networks that have a diverse applicant pool is acceptable, but in most circumstances, hiring candidates based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender will be considered discrimination under the EEOC’s new approach. 

Second, employers must take care to avoid programs and initiatives that appear to be neutral on personnel issues but have a disparate impact on a specific group or groups of people. Using recruitment as an example, requiring skills that are not necessary for a position but are a criterion for hiring seem neutral, but could have a disparate impact on groups of workers. Carefully consider dispensing with age, language, and other requirements, attributes or skills that are not a bona fide occupational qualification for a position in the company. If, for instance, speaking Spanish is not necessary, do not require that skill because doing so may affect a group or groups of workers disproportionately because they may only speak English. The employer must have a legitimate and nondiscriminatory reason for the job requirement. 

Third, states will be stepping in with laws and regulations when there are not federal laws in place. This may result in a checkerboard of differing laws across the states. Employers should have skilled labor and employment attorneys who can advise them on compliance strategies. 

Finally, very few new regulations will be passed in the Trump Administration, as the goal is to reduce government oversight. However, the administration will likely create regulations on the Joint Employer Standard and the Independent Contractor Rule because they change each time a different political party is in control of the executive branch. Creating regulations will make it harder for them to be rolled back in the future, will provide clarity, and will help avoid state-law checkerboarding on these important issues. 

The Alliance will continue to track labor and employment developments in both the federal government and in the states. We will keep the industry informed of important developments that will affect it. 

In this article Adriane Harrison, VP of Human Relations Consulting, PRINTING United Alliance, addresses the first 100 days of the new administration and the changes that are affecting employers. More information about labor and employment laws and regulations can be found at the Center for Human Resources Support or reach out to Adriane directly if you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business at: aharrison@printing.org.    
  
To become a member of the Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.