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Policy Week in Review - January 31, 2025
We are pleased to present the Policy Week in Review (PWR) prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the government relations and public policy arm of Littler. The PWR will set forth in one place WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week. Our hope is that the PWR, as well as Littler’s First 100 Days compilation page and Executive Order Tracker, our go-to resources collecting orders and actions taken by the Trump administration, will assist readers in navigating the rapidly changing labor and employment legal landscape.
Congressional and Administrative News
BLS Releases Report Showing Decline in Union Membership Rate
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a report which shows a continued decline in unionization rates. According to the report, overall union membership rate has steadily dropped from 20.1 percent in 1983 to 9.9 percent in 2024 (with the private sector union rate being only 5.9 percent). The report highlights several other key data points: public-sector worker union memberships are five times higher than the rate of private sector workers; workers in education, training, library occupations and protective occupations have the highest unionization rates; men have higher union memberships rates than women; Black workers remain more likely to be union members than white, Asian or Hispanic workers; nonunion workers had median weekly earnings that were 85 percent of earnings for workers who were union members; and Hawaii and New York had the highest union membership rates, while the lowest rates were in North Carolina, South Dakota, and South Carolina.
White House Fires NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo and Member Wilcox
On January 27, 2025, President Trump terminated Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, and Board Member Gwynne Wilcox. Abruzzo’s termination was widely expected (with some wondering why she was not fired on the first day of the new administration); Wilcox’s termination is somewhat more surprising, and, if held to be lawful, would deprive the Board of a quorum to do business until successor members are confirmed. For further Littler analysis, read here.
White House Fires EEOC General Counsel Gilbride and Commissioners Burrows and Samuels
Following on the heels of the January 27, 2025 firings at the NLRB noted above, President Trump fired two of the three Democratic Commissioners on the five-seat Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including Charlotte Burrows, who chaired the Commission during the Biden administration, and whose term on the Commission was scheduled to expire on July 1, 2028, and Joycelyn Samuels, the Biden-era vice chair of the Commission, who was confirmed to serve until July 1, 2026. The president also fired EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride, who was confirmed during the Biden administration for a four-year term ending in 2027. Both commissioners indicated they are exploring legal options to challenge their terminations. For further Littler analysis, read here.
Acting Secretary of Labor Brings All OFCCP Activities Under Executive Oder 11246 to a Halt
On January 24, 2025, Acting Secretary of Labor Vincent Micone, III issued an order to all Department of Labor employees, including employees of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Office of Administrative Law Judges, and the Administrative Review Board, instructing them to “immediately cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activity under the rescinded Executive Order 11246” and its implementing regulations. For further Littler analysis, read here.
White House Issues New Executive Order on AI; Prior Order Revoked
Among the blizzard of executive orders issued following his inauguration, President Trump revoked former President Biden’s executive order addressing artificial intelligence. A few days later, on January 23, 2025, President Trump issued his own AI executive order, entitled, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” For further Littler analysis, read here.
