Trump EOs reshape government and workplace laws

Within days of taking office, President Trump began taking steps to fundamentally reshape the laws and practices of the workplace. By means of a series of Executive Orders (EOs) and direct executive actions, 90 years of settled law and practice have been overturned.

NLRB

By taking the unprecedented course of firing a sitting National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member, the president has not only created a constitutional crisis (see "Termination of NLRB's Wilcox creates Constitutional dilemma"), he has also rendered the Board ineffective.

The NLRB now lacks a majority and cannot take any final, precedential action. This means no union election can be certified, no unfair labor practice charge finally adjudicated, and no new regulation promulgated. Traditional labor law is at full stop.

Litigation is pending that could convert Board members to at-will employees of the president.

OFCCP

Once EO 14173 rescinded the EO establishing affirmative action obligations for government contractors (EO 11246), there was barely a role left for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In short order, the OFCCP is expected to reduce its operations from 55 offices nationally to four and will also reduce its number of employees by 90 percent.