"Though there were no issues on the ballot last week that specifically addressed labor and employment issues, over the past 11 months I have had multiple opportunities to write about the erosion of employee protections under the Trump administration. From policy shifts and case dismissals at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Labor, to the dismantling of the National Labor Relations Board and its powers, things have been changing fast and furiously."
"The U.S. Labor Department announced two changes to its Fair Labor Standards Act enforcement. The agency no longer seeks liquidated damages for unpaid worker wages. They also changed its independent contractor analysis to focus on workers' control over their time and opportunity for profit and loss. The old rule also looked at a worker's skill level, duration/permanence of the assignment, investment by the worker and the worker's function. It more often than not found employee protections to apply."
Voters on Nov. 4 chose Democrats traditionally aligned with labor in a blue wave. From day one, the Trump administration issued executive orders and agency directives to favor employers by weakening and rolling back enforcement of workplace protections. The Labor Department stopped seeking liquidated damages for unpaid wages and revised its independent-contractor test to emphasize workers' control over time and profit opportunity rather than multifactor considerations. The administration pursued deep budget cuts to offices that enforce wage-and-hour rules, worker safety and health, and retirement plan oversight. Changes at the EEOC and NLRB further reduced employee protections and enforcement powers.
Read at www.amny.com
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