With the dust settling on the 2024 election results, the news cycle now shifts to the policy initiatives that the second Trump administration will put into place (and in fact are already beginning) as soon as the inauguration is complete. President-elect Trump’s platform contained a number of campaign statements regarding his view on federal labor and employment laws and how his newly appointed administrative officials would go about shaping those laws. These are laws that strike at the core of both the national economy and the individual employees that make up that economy. While some of the new administration’s plans may take time to work their way through the system (and potential legal challenges), here are five areas that may see immediate action even as early as the first 100 days of the administration:

Reduced Administrative Enforcement at the Federal Level

At a macro level, almost all federal agencies tasked with enforcement of employment laws will see reduced activity for a number of reasons. This includes the National Labor Relations Board, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor. With control of the White House and potentially both chambers of Congress, the new administration will limit funding to these agencies and install officials who will slow down the enforcement process considerably. Add on top of that President-elect Trump’s threat to alter the job status of federal employees and potentially terminate the employment of federal employees on a grand scale, and these agencies will have their enforcement capabilities hobbled even further. To that end, expect state agencies to step into the vacuum and attempt to pick up the pieces.

Immigration Control

The most prominent pillar in President-elect Trump’s campaign platform was his vow to crack down harshly on immigration and border control – both for those entering the country and those who are already here. This may include mass deportations of immigrants on a scale the country has never seen before. In conjunction, employers may experience increased scrutiny on their workforces. This can range anywhere from heightened regulatory scrutiny by immigration officials on documentation for existing workers, increased penalties for employers that violate the law, to an overhaul of the immigration visa system to make it more difficult for foreign workers to be granted authority to work in the United States. Numerous industries will be impacted by these initiatives, including agriculture, hospitality, and technology. Employers should be on notice for immigration policy changes as early as the first day of the new administration, as the President-elect has made it no secret this is a top line item for his regulatory agenda.

National Labor Relations Board

There is no agency where the pendulum swings so drastically between administrations as the National Labor Relations Board and this new administration will be no exception. President-elect Trump will surely relieve NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo of her position as soon as possible and replace her with a General Counsel that will implement a more pro-employer agenda. This means an immediate revocation of the various memos issues by GC Abruzzo targeting certain areas of law ripe for change and establishing novel enforcement considerations, and a potential slowing down of the process of the work at the Board. Further, as anyone who practices before the Board knows, settlement agreements to resolve Unfair Labor Practice charges have become stricter in the Biden-era – that will surely be relaxed once the new administration settles in.

The long-term agenda will certainly see President-elect Trump re-establishing a Republican majority on the Board in an attempt to reverse the Biden-era cases that have caused significant turmoil in the labor relations field. This will almost certainly mean that the Cemex decision, the 2023 decision that made it easier for unions to win recognition, will be on the chopping block at the first opportunity. Additionally, the Stericycle decision will likely be reversed, providing employers with more latitude in implementing workplace rules and handbooks. Employer and unions will have to re-orient themselves to the new reality at the Board, one that will look far different than the past four years.

Department of Labor

The Department of Labor has seen several important initiatives in the past several Biden administration, including the tightening of scrutiny regarding independent contractors, to an increase in the salary basis test for exempt employees (which was just put on hold by a federal court in Texas), and increased wage and hour enforcements. The new administration will likely take steps to roll back some of these initiatives, as they did in the first Trump administration.

A new area of focus that President-elect Trump revealed on the campaign trail is the idea of eliminating taxation on different areas of compensation. This would include eliminating tax on tips and overtime for the first time in history. Whether this will be coupled with a federal minimum wage hike is unclear, but it does seem at least on its face that the administration is looking to put some money back in the pockets of workers. Significantly, wage and hour policy issued by the Trump administration will not affect state laws in this area, so employers must still pay careful attention to applicable state law on these issues.

Rolling Back Artificial Intelligence Safeguards

In October 2023, the Biden administration issued an Executive Order directing various federal agencies to begin implementing processes to ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before being made available for public use. This would eventually include AI systems that would be used by employers for recruitment or workforce management purposes. President-elect Trump vowed to repeal this Executive Order immediately, and there is no reason to doubt he will stay true to this campaign promise. With the repeal of this Executive Order, AI regulation will remain with the states in a patchwork of legislation that is just starting to gain steam across the country. To that end, employers will still need to make sure their use of AI doesn’t run afoul of any states in which they operate.

Ultimately, the second version of the Trump administration will likely see implementation of a combination of old and new initiatives. Employers should be sure to consult with counsel regarding these changes as well as examining how they interplay with state and local laws, as the disparity between these laws may be even greater than in the first administration. 

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If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact our Labor & Employment attorneys or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.