Worker Policy Watch
Your source for accurate and reliable information on how federal policies are shaping workers’ rights—and what’s at stake for working people nationwide under the Trump administration.
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Trump Revokes Biden EO Establishing Infrastructure Law Implementation Task Force
Trump revokes the Biden EO that paved the way for the jobs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be good jobs, with high wages, excellent benefits, and the freedom to join a union.
Impact: The Trump administration’s reversal is aimed at reducing job quality for those working on the effective implementation of the Act, which allocated billions of dollars to federally funded infrastructure projects in the states. Poor jobs will mean it is harder to find qualified workers and will impede progress on rebuilding our nation's often crumbling infrastructure.
Trump Reverses Biden Sustainability Goals for Federal Government
Trump Reverses Biden Sustainability Goals for Federal Government procurement to cut green house emissions and promote green technology.
Impact: The Trump administration is abandoning the ambitious Biden EO climate and green energy goals for the goods and services the federal government pays for. Workers suffer every day from the impacts of climate change including natural disasters that make it impossible for them to work and dangerous levels of heat that make them ill and sometimes even cause death.
Trump Rolls Back President Biden’s Federal Government Equity Commitment
President Trump rescinded President Biden’s executive orders, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” and "Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government."
Impact:
Biden’s orders committed the federal government to consider and center equity for underserved communities in policy and funding decisionmaking. The orders made that commitment real by directing agencies to establish equity action plans and affirmatively advance civil rights policies under their jurisdictions, including in the implementation of major federal infrastructure investments. Revoking these executive orders will make federal government action less effectively targeted toward the communities that need it the most.
Trump Cancels Policy to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce
President Trump revoked President Biden’s policy of following best practices to ensure the federal government hired and retained the most highly qualified individuals from all segments of society to serve the American people.
Impact: Workers of color, women, workers with disabilities, and other marginalized groups face persistent and discriminatory barriers that lead to widespread segregation by job type. As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government should lead by example and disrupt, rather than exacerbate, these inequities. And as the Biden order notes, “diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplaces yield higher-performing organizations.” Rolling back this policy will mean marginalized workers will face increased barriers to getting federal contract jobs they are qualified for and will also result in less efficient government work.
Trump Repeals Biden Executive Order that Allows Transgender Individuals to Serve in the Military
Trump revives 2018 policy of banning transgender individuals from serving in the Military, reversing a Biden executive order signed in 2021 known as the Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their Country in Uniform.
Impact: By some estimates, nearly 15,000 service members could be kicked out of the military solely because of their identity as a result.
Trump Administration Revives Plan to Strip Employment Protections for Federal Workers
Tens of thousands of federal civilian workers could lose protection from being arbitrarily fired and potentially replaced with Trump administration loyalists under schedule F plan.
Impact: Over 2 million people are part of the non-partisan federal government workforce and in order for them to be honest brokers, and be able to report misconduct or malfeasance without fear of retaliation, they have civil service protections from being fired except for just cause. The Trump Administration wants to strip many of them of these protections so they can be fired at will and replaced with partisan appointees.and replaced with partisan appointees.
Trump Orders all Federal Employees to Return to In-person Work
Trump orders all federal departments and agencies to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to come back to the office full time.
Impact: By requiring a stringent return to office policy for 5 days a week, the Trump administration joins a growing trend of large corporations seeking to reduce their workforce by imposing undue hardship on their employees, requiring a return to the office without any showing that their work or productivity has suffered as a result of remote work. This will be a particular hardship for people, mostly women, balancing their responsibilities for young children or caring for other family members.
Trump Administration Orders a Regulatory Freeze on All Federal Agencies and Departments
Trump Administration orders all executive agencies and departments to not issue or propose any new rule starting at noon on January 20.
Impact: Anything not yet published in the federal register will be withdrawn, including OSHA's proposed standard to protect workers from heat and the Wage and Hour Division's proposed rule to stop allowing workers with disabilities to be paid less than the minimum wage.
The Trump Administration has Issued a Hiring Freeze for All Federal Agencies and Departments
The Trump Administration has issued a hiring freeze for all federal agencies and departments.
Impact: Positions that are not currently filled will remain vacant and no new hiring will take place during the hiring freeze. As people leave their jobs, they will not be filled and the delivery of government services will suffer. This is laying the groundwork for an attempt to dramatically shrink the federal workforce and impede essential services.
Trump updates Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) for federal Senior Executive workforce
Trump EO Updates qualifications for federal Senior Executive Service (SES) Workforce for first time in 15 years with a focus on data, AI, and other technology competencies.
Impact: Trump is paving the way to make it easier to dismiss career civil servants. OPM and OMB shall issue mandatory SES Performance Plans within 30 days that agencies must adopt for their workforce. SES workers deemed not in compliance will be subject to reassignment or termination.