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Category: Agency Enforcement

President Trump Nominates Jonathan Berry for Solicitor of Labor

On March 31, President Trump nominated Jonathan Berry to serve as the Solicitor of Labor. The top lawyer position is the third most senior role at the Labor Department, after the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. Mr. Berry is currently managing partner at the law firm Boyden Grey. He wrote the chapter on Labor Department policies for Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s policy...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Federal Judge Temporarily Stops DOL From Enforcing Part of Executive Orders’ Anti-DEI Provisions

A federal judge on March 27 temporarily stopped the U.S. Labor Department from implementing parts of President Trump’s executive orders relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois concerns: the certification provision in E.O. 14173, which requires grant recipients to certify that they do not operate any...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Senate Confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer To Be Next Secretary of Labor

The U.S. Senate recently confirmed two of President Trump’s nominees for top posts at the Department of Labor. On March 10, it confirmed former Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer as the Secretary of Labor in a 67 to 32 vote. On March 12, it confirmed former EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling as the Deputy Secretary of Labor in a 53 to 46...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Acting Secretary of Labor Micone Orders OFCCP To Halt All E.O. 11246 Investigations

Acting Labor Secretary Vincent Micone has ordered DOL personnel to cease all enforcement activities under rescinded Executive Order 11246 and to pause enforcement activities under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 pending further guidance. Secretary’s Order 03-2025, issued January 24, 2025, covers “all pending cases, conciliation agreements, investigations, complaints, and any other enforcement-related or investigative activity.”...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President Trump Designates New Leadership at Workplace Compliance Agencies

President Trump has moved quickly to install new leadership at agencies responsible for workplace compliance. He has already designated new officials at the EEOC, where he named Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas to serve as Acting Chair, and at the NLRB, where he designated Republican Marvin Kaplan to serve as Chairman. At the Labor Department, he designated career official Vince Micone...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President-Elect Trump Picks Former EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling for Deputy Secretary of Labor

President-elect Trump has announced Keith Sonderling as his choice to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor. The Deputy Labor Secretary is DOL’s second-in-command and generally manages the department’s day-to-day operations. Sonderling served as an EEOC Commissioner from September 2020 until August 2024. Before that, he served as Acting Administrator of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. President Trump will have to...
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Category: DOL

DOL Appears To Abandon Its Attempt To Overhaul the Registered Apprenticeship Program

The Biden Administration appears to be giving up on its attempt to overhaul the regulations governing registered apprenticeship programs. The Labor Department published its proposed rule on January 17, 2024, and in June sent a draft of the final regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval. On November 27, 2024, OMB posted on its website that the...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Proposes Phasing Out Subminimum Wages for People With Disabilities

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule December 4 that would phase out the Section 14(c) certificate program that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to individuals with disabilities. If the proposed rule were adopted in its current form, applications sent on or after the rule’s effective date would be ignored, and existing certificates would...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Says an Employee Has the Right To Use FMLA Leave for a Clinical Trial

An employee may use FMLA leave to participate in a clinical trial or research study to treat a serious health condition, according to a new opinion letter from the Labor Department. An eligible employee has the right to use FMLA leave because of a serious health condition. The Family and Medical Leave Act defines a serious health condition as an...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President-Elect Trump Taps Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer To Be Secretary of Labor

President-elect Donald Trump (R-Oregon) has named Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his choice to be the next Secretary of Labor. The first-term Congresswoman is an unconventional choice in view of her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 20), legislation that would rewrite labor law in favor of organized labor. Sean O’Brien, the general president of...

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