Latest news with #DOL
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Sen. Hawley demands Tyson child labor probe. Trump's cuts to DOL could make that difficult.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, speaks at a confirmation hearing for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. (screenshot courtesy of C-SPAN via Investigate Midwest) Despite rising child labor violations and new Senate demands to investigate the nation's largest meat processor, the U.S. Department of Labor remains silent on whether it has the staff to conduct future probes amidst a major reduction in its workforce. At a May 22 congressional hearing, newly appointed Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said 2,700 department employees have taken a deferred resignation program offered to nearly all federal employees as a part of Trump administration-led staff reductions. However, she said enforcement staff with the Wage and Hour Division, who are responsible for investigating child labor, are exempt from the program. 'At the Department of Labor, our goal is to fully enforce the law and make sure that we are using the full enforcement capability of the Department of Labor to crack down if someone is knowingly breaking that law, and we will double down to do that,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Federal agencies that enforce labor, environmental and agricultural laws have seen layoffs, budget cuts and attacks on federal workers in recent months under the Trump administration. Jessica Looman, former administrator for the Wage and Hour Division under the Biden administration, said she worries ongoing cuts to staff and budgets will have a chilling effect on the division's ability to carry out its work. 'Enforcing federal child labor laws is one of the most important things that the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor does and it's critical that they have the resources to be able to do that work,' Looman said in an interview with Investigate Midwest. The Wage and Hour Division has roughly 1,400 full-time employees and a budget of $260 million as of fiscal year 2024, according to DOL budget documents and interviews with former staff. The agency has around 700 investigators tasked with enforcing federal child labor and other labor laws. In its 2025 budget proposal under the Biden administration, the Wage and Hour Division requested 50 additional full-time employees to continue investigating child labor. 'Over the last decade, WHD enforcement capacity has decreased from more than 1,000 on-board investigators to just over 720 investigators — one of the lowest levels in fifty years,' the document states. The DOL would not answer direct questions from Investigate Midwest about how federal budget cuts and deferred resignations have impacted the Wage and Hour Division, or how these changes would affect its ability to conduct child labor investigations. The concerns over cuts to staff responsible for child labor investigations come as multiple senators are calling for more investigations into potential child labor in meatpacking plants. This month, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, sent a letter to DOL Secretary Chavez-DeRemer demanding an investigation into Tyson Foods, the nation's largest poultry processing company. Hawley said he was contacted by a whistleblower who previously worked for the company and claimed to have seen underage workers at a processing plant employed by a third-party contracting service, as well as hearing from other coworkers that underage workers were working at the facility. 'They're using child labor, they're using illegal immigrant labor and they're basically participating in an illegal human trafficking ring,' Hawley said in an interview with Investigate Midwest. 'This has got to stop.' Tyson Foods is still under investigation for the use of child labor at two of its facilities in Arkansas, according to a DOL statement from March. In a letter sent to Hawley, the Department of Labor confirmed the company is under investigation for child labor, but did not detail specific facilities. 'We do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse, or in any other way participate in the use of child labor by third parties,' a Tyson spokesperson said in a statement to Investigate Midwest. Hawley and Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker reintroduced legislation in March to prevent companies with child labor violations from obtaining federal contracts and funding. Nearly half of all child labor violations in the past two decades have come from agriculture industries, with the number of child labor violations increasing 35% in the past 10 years, according to DOL data. While crop production accounts for most of these violations, major meatpacking companies, such as Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Perdue Farms, Cargill and Mar-Jac Poultry have been fined and investigated for violating federal child labor laws in the past decade. In 2023, the Wage and Hour Division announced that Packers Sanitation Service, a company formerly based out of Wisconsin and now headquartered in Atlanta, employed more than 100 children – ages 13 to 17 – at 13 meatpacking plants across the country. The company was fined $1.5 million for child labor law violations. 'With cuts going on in the Trump administration, we certainly have a fear that there's going to be even less capacity and less appetite for enforcing child labor laws,' said Todd Larson, co-executive director for environmental and labor advocacy group GreenPeace, part of a coalition working to prevent child labor in meatpacking and food processing.. While it's unclear how child labor in the U.S. will be affected by federal cuts, international enforcement already has seen an impact. The quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cut $240 million in funding for the Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau in March, according to POLITICO. The office investigates global use of child labor in supply chains, as well as labor performed under human trafficking or coercion. In a letter to the DOL, Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee called on the agency to reinstate funding to the bureau to prevent goods made under child labor conditions from entering the country's supply chain and competing with the U.S. labor force. 'American trade policy relies on critical federal programs working overseas to challenge unfair competition from governments that commit egregious abuses in global supply chains,' the letter states. 'By eliminating these and other technical assistance projects, the Administration is surrendering an essential tool for leveling the playing field and holding our trade partners accountable.' 2025-05-06-hawley-letter-tyson-whistleblower-re-child-labor (1) Hawley Response Signed (1) This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Politico
2 days ago
- Business
- Politico
A former Job Corps champion leads its demise
Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben When LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER served in Congress, she was honored for championing the Job Corps program. As Labor secretary, she's the face of its impending demise. Chavez-DeRemer has initiated the full-scale shutdown of the $1.7 billion War on Poverty-era program that trains and houses tens of thousands of low-income youth each year and has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. It's a surprising reversal for the former Oregon Republican who in late 2023 promised to 'continue doing my part to expand education and career training opportunities for students.' It also underscores how the Trump administration's effort to reshape the federal government will persist even after DOGE brainchild ELON MUSK's exit from Washington. Federal contractors last week were told to shut down the 99 Job Corps centers across the country that house, train and teach some 25,000 predominantly low-income young people by June 30. The Labor Department already paused new enrollment as it conducted a review of the program. On Thursday, DOL said it believes Job Corps is financially unsustainable and too often fails those it serves. 'Our comprehensive review of Job Corps revealed significant systemic issues – including an alarming number of serious incidents, poor student outcomes, and unsustainable costs,' DOL spokesperson COURTNEY PARELLA said in a statement. 'With only 38% of students graduating, it's clear the program is failing the majority of participants.' Chavez-DeRemer has said she remains committed to the young people who turn to Job Corps but that she did not understand the extent of its shortcomings until arriving at DOL. The White House last month proposed eliminating Job Corps as part of its budget request, but the move to idle centers and send enrollees packing is a dramatic escalation of its plans. It also differs from President DONALD TRUMP's first term, in which DOL sought steep cuts to the program but intended to keep it running. Congress largely preserved the status quo. Many of the administration's actions stem from an analysis of the Job Corps program that it says lay bare its failures. The report initially said the program's average per-student cost was more than $107,000, which DOL later updated to $80,300. A DOL spokesperson said the initial figure was the result of an uploading error, and the issue was fixed the same day it was released on April 25. Job Corps supporters argue DOL designed the data analysis to intentionally paint the program in a poor light. 'These are at-risk youth, and naturally the numbers [for graduation rates] are going to be lower,' said WENOMIA PERSON, a former Job Corps staffer who is now an officer at one of the unions representing DOL workers. 'It's not resolving the problem to send these kids back home and onto the streets.' Chavez-DeRemer has embraced DOGE, hiring its acolytes and allowing the cost-cutting outfit to get the first crack at announcing cancellation of DOL grant awards and other reductions. She also has a standing weekly check-in with DOGE, according to recently released public schedules of her first months as secretary. Those meetings were first reported by Bloomberg Law. In turn, DOGE has frequently held up DOL as a poster child for paring back on phone lines and other underutilized expenses and placed it near the top of the leaderboard on its so-called wall of receipts, despite having one of the smallest budgets among Cabinet agencies. The National Job Corps Association, the group that awarded Chavez-DeRemer in 2023 her for her work supporting the program, is now suing her to block DOL's attempt to suspend the program. The group hopes 'she will stop the Job Corps closures that are needlessly jeopardizing the lives of some of the most vulnerable young Americans and instead work to implement necessary reforms, including those she voted for in Congress,' NJCA President DONNA HAY said in a statement. The Transportation Communications Union, a rail union that operates an advanced Job Corps program, is now calling employers to help students land job interviews. ARTIE MARATEA, president of the union, noted that Trump was 'just talking about the need for more trade schools – well we are a trade school, and our graduates make good money, with pensions and benefits.' MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Who were the only major party presidential nominees born in Michigan? (Answer at bottom.) Musk Radar AND, HERE. WE. GO: Once wasn't enough. Musk again made his thoughts known on the president's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' this afternoon, our GISELLE RUHIYYIH EWING reports. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote on X. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Musk added in a separate X post that the bill 'will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America[n] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.' During today's White House press briefing, which was underway when Musk posted, press secretary KAROLINE LEAVITT brushed aside his comments, saying that Trump 'already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion.' In the Courts 'LAST SUPPER': The HHS personnel records DOGE used to decide which employees to fire were 'hopelessly error-ridden' and contained 'systemic inaccuracies,' according to a new class-action lawsuit, our DANIEL BARNES and LAUREN GARDNER report. The records reflected lower performance ratings than what employees had actually received, and in some cases, listed incorrect job locations and job descriptions, the suit alleges. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for all HHS employees who were terminated on April 1 and whose reduction-in-force notice contained incorrect information. The lawsuit also claims the HHS layoffs were made because of a 'deep-seated animus toward federal workers.' The day before one employee received a RIF notice, a young man in business attire drove past the employee while in the empty FDA parking garage. He 'shouted at her from the car: 'This is DOGE and this is your Last Supper!'' the suit states. 'He laughed and drove off. The employee was shaken, but didn't understand the incident at the time. She received her RIF notice the next morning.' Agenda Setting BEEFING UP DOGE: Tucked inside of the White House's budget appendix released Friday is evidence of the DOGE operation's staying power, POLITICO's E&E News' ROBIN BRAVENDER reports. The White House is proposing increasing DOGE's staffers from an estimated 89 people in fiscal 2025 to 150 in fiscal 2026, according to the document. DOGE would also get more cash under the proposal: It spent an estimated $20 million in fiscal 2025, which would be boosted in fiscal 2026 to $45 million. WORK BAN LOOMS: The Trump administration is considering blocking most asylum-seekers from getting work permits, a proposal that would upend longstanding U.S. immigration policy, CBS News' CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ reports. The U.S. has since the 1990s allowed migrants with pending asylum claims to work in the country lawfully while their cases are decided. BUT WE THOUGHT … Trump is asking Congress for a multibillion-dollar spending increase for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund next year, after months of pledging to cut federal funding for natural disaster response, POLITICO's E&E News' THOMAS FRANK reports. Trump asked for a record-high $26.5 billion for the fund, which reimburses states for disaster cleanup and recovery — up from $22.5 billion for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. 'The numbers here kind of contradict the narrative recently — in a good way. It's coming out better than expected,' said CARRIE SPERANZA, head of the U.S. division of the International Association of Emergency Managers. MORE ON FEMA: FEMA officials are scrapping a hurricane response plan that acting FEMA head DAVID RICHARDSON had told staff was close to completion, WSJ's SCOTT PATTERSON and TARINI PARTI report. Richardson told staff on Monday that the agency would return to the same guidance for hurricane response as last year — including having staffers go door-to-door to help storm survivors — despite the agency having already eliminated several key programs and positions. Richardson said he didn't want to create a new plan that could contradict the FEMA review council, created by DHS Secretary KRISTI NOEM. And shockingly, Richardson reportedly suggested he didn't know there was a hurricane season until recently. 'Yesterday, as everybody knows, [was the] first day of hurricane season,' he said. 'I didn't realize it was a season.' During today's briefing, Leavitt expressed confidence in Noem and Richardson while calling his comments 'jokes.' WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT TROUBLE TROUBLE: Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Forest Service, MICHAEL BOREN, has been a thorn in the agency's side for years, NYT's HIROKO TABUCHI reported ahead of Boren's confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee this afternoon. The billionaire tech company leader and Trump donor was accused of flying a helicopter dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail in 2020, prompting officials to seek a restraining order. Boren also got a caution from the agency when he built a private airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch in a national recreation area. And in the fall, the agency sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing a company that Boren controlled of building an unauthorized cabin on National Forest land. CYBER CUTS: Roughly 1,000 people have left the government's top cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, since Trump took office, Axios' SAM SABIN reports. CISA is also facing a 17 percent budget cut under the president's spending proposal. The White House suggested cutting CISA's workforce by 1,083 positions — from 3,732 to 2,649 — during fiscal 2026, but Axios reports that the agency has already reached those numbers. What We're Reading A Stephen Miller Staffer and Tough Talk: Inside Trump's Latest Attack on Harvard (NYT's Michael S. Schmidt and Michael C. Bender) U.S. Scientists Warn That Trump's Cuts Will Set Off a Brain Drain (NYT's Kate Zernike) Cuba tried to improve its relations with the US by cooperating with Trump's deportation flights. It didn't work. (POLITICO's Eric Bazail-Eimil) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Former New York Gov. THOMAS E. DEWEY was a native of Owosso, Michigan, and MITT ROMNEY is a native of Detroit. Former President GERALD FORD was a member of Michigan's congressional delegation, but was born in Nebraska.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Donald Trump govt faces ire over Job Corps centres' closure: Why 'lifeline for young people in need' is facing axe
The US government's decision to shut down multiple Job Corps centres across the country has triggered strong backlash from ordinary citizens and political figures, who argue the move will strip young Americans of essential career-building opportunities. Citing financial shortfalls and low graduation rates, the US Department of Labor (DOL) plans to close the operations at Job Corps centres nationwide by June 2025. The announcement faced a lot of criticism from not just the stranded students and their families but also US political figures. The US Congress submitted a letter to the Department of Labor, urging them to reverse the closure of the Job Corps immediately, as these programmes are economic engines that support hundreds of good-paying local jobs, keeping the country's communities thriving. US Senator Tim Kaine strongly opposed the decision on X (formerly Twitter), calling these programmes 'The lifeline of young people in need.' A number of X users called the move "disappointing' as Job Corps was a viable option for students from low-income families to learn the necessary skills required for employment in high-trade areas such as nursing and mechanical tech. The Department of Labor assured the affected people of having an orderly transition for students, staff, and local communities by collaborating with state and local partners to assist current students in advancing their training and connecting them with education and employment opportunities. However, the letter submitted to the department by US Congress highlights that the staff at the Job Corps have not received any guidance so far on supporting students and other relevant people to transition to continue their training. According to DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Job Corps was created to provide education, training and community to young adults but the government's fiscal analysis and a startling number of serious incidents revealed that the programme is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. The Job Corps programme was operating at a $140 million deficit, requiring the Biden administration to implement a pause in centres' operations to complete the programme year. The deficit is projected to reach $213 million in the year 2025, said a news release. Job Corps is a federally funded residential career training programme that has been around for more than 50 years. The programme's objective is to help low-income young people in the age group of 16 to 24 years finish high school and get jobs. Job Corps essentially provides room, board and skills training for up to three years, alongside other services, such as child care and transportation. The programme serves nearly 60,000 students each year, according to the federal data.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Labor Department Opens Crypto Floodgates: Your 401(k) Just Got A Bitcoin Upgrade
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. The U.S. Department of Labor has officially rescinded its 2022 guidance that warned against including cryptocurrencies in 401(k) investment menus, marking a dramatic reversal that could unlock billions in retirement savings for digital asset investments. 2022 Guidance Eliminated The original March 2022 release directed plan fiduciaries to exercise 'extreme care' before adding cryptocurrency options to retirement plans—a standard the DOL now acknowledges doesn't exist under federal law. This guidance effectively discouraged most employers from offering crypto investment options in their workplace retirement plans. Don't Miss: — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – . The DOL is reverting to its traditional approach of neither endorsing nor disapproving specific investment types. Plan fiduciaries can now evaluate cryptocurrency investments using standard fiduciary principles rather than an elevated 'extreme care' standard. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, plan fiduciaries must make investment decisions based on whether they're prudent and in participants' best interests. The DOL clarified that these decisions should be 'context specific' and consider 'all relevant facts and circumstances'—the same standard applied to traditional investments. Immediate Effects Plan Sponsor Relief: Employers can now consider crypto options without fear of heightened regulatory scrutiny Provider Opportunity: Investment companies can develop crypto products for the 401(k) market Participant Access: Workers may gain exposure to digital assets through employer-sponsored plans Potential Market Size The 401(k) market holds approximately $7.4 trillion in assets across nearly 650,000 plans. Even modest allocation to cryptocurrencies could represent significant capital flows into digital assets. Potential Benefits: Portfolio diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds Exposure to potentially high-growth asset class Professional oversight through plan fiduciary structure Key Risks: High volatility compared to traditional retirement investments Regulatory uncertainty in broader crypto markets Limited long-term performance history Potential for significant losses Opportunities: Enhanced participant investment options Competitive advantage in attracting younger workers Alignment with evolving investment preferences Challenges: Fiduciary liability for investment performance Need for participant education on crypto risks Operational complexity of crypto custody and trading Plan fiduciaries must still conduct thorough analysis including: Investment strategy alignment with plan objectives Fee structure evaluation Risk assessment relative to participant demographics Provider due diligence and operational capabilities Rather than direct cryptocurrency holdings, 401(k) plans will probably offer: Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs Diversified crypto index funds Target-date funds with crypto allocation Self-directed brokerage accounts with crypto access Trending: New to crypto? on Coinbase. The reversal reflects broader institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies as legitimate investment assets. Major financial institutions have already launched crypto ETFs and investment products, while regulatory frameworks continue evolving. This policy shift acknowledges that blanket restrictions may have been premature as the crypto market has matured and institutional infrastructure has improved. For Younger Workers Workers with longer time horizons may benefit from crypto exposure as part of diversified retirement strategies. The volatility that makes crypto unsuitable for near-retirees could potentially benefit those with decades until retirement. For Older Participants Those approaching retirement should carefully consider crypto's volatility and lack of income generation when evaluating allocation decisions. This reversal occurs amid broader crypto regulatory developments, including Bitcoin ETF approvals and evolving Securities and Exchange Commission guidance. The DOL's neutral stance suggests growing regulatory comfort with digital assets in traditional financial structures. Implementation Timeline While the guidance is rescinded immediately, practical implementation will depend on: Plan sponsor decisions to add crypto options Investment provider product development Participant education and adoption Market Development Expect gradual rollout as employers assess participant demand and fiduciary implications. Initial offerings will likely focus on established cryptocurrencies through regulated investment vehicles. The DOL's reversal removes a significant barrier to crypto adoption in America's retirement system. While this doesn't mandate crypto inclusion, it allows market forces and fiduciary judgment—rather than regulatory discouragement—to determine whether digital assets belong in retirement portfolios. Plan participants should approach crypto investments with the same careful consideration given any retirement investment, understanding both the growth potential and substantial risks involved. The key change is that this decision can now be made without artificial regulatory barriers. Read Next: A must-have for all crypto enthusiasts: . 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Send To MSN: 0 This article Labor Department Opens Crypto Floodgates: Your 401(k) Just Got A Bitcoin Upgrade originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Cuts and patriotism essays
With help from Lawrence Ukenye and PJI participant Diamy Wang QUICK FIX TIGHTEN THE PURSE: President Donald Trump wants the Department of Labor to do less. A lot less. Budget documents released Friday propose eliminating DOL's Women's Bureau, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Job Corps, while relocating the Bureau of Labor Statistics into the Commerce Department, as your host reported for Pro subscribers. BLS would also be put under the 'policy direction of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,' a change that has the potential to politicize its operations and unsettle Wall Street and others who rely on its reports. DOL would reduce headcount to roughly 10,800, down more than one quarter from the nearly 14,800 staffers at the tail end of the Biden administration. About 2,700 DOL employees are already headed out after accepting Trump's exit incentives, and DOL is trying to lay off hundreds at OFCCP. (That plan is on hold pending resolution of a lawsuit brought in California by labor unions and others.) The budget plan also proposes slashing funding at the Bureau of International Labor Affairs by close to 38 percent, while many other parts of the agency would also see less funding — including the Wage and Hour Division and Mine Safety and Health Administration — though to a much lesser degree. Both would see 10 percent reductions from their current levels. Some advocates have argued that these parts of DOL are already stretched too thin to effectively enforce federal law. For instance, WHD has just over 600 investigators to probe wage theft and child labor abuse nationwide — the fewest in more than half-century, according to a report released last week by Rutgers University and Northwestern University. One branch notably unaffected by the proposed cuts: Office of Labor-Management Standards, which imposes reporting requirements on labor unions, as well as employers that enlist anti-union consultants. OLMS' budget would stay at $49 million. 'The Budget focuses the Department on its highest priority functions and disinvests in programs that are wasteful, duplicative, unproven, non-essential, or ineffective,' the proposal states. Outside of DOL, both the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are calling for less funding, though their cuts would be far smaller by comparison. The administration proposed a 4.7 percent reduction for the NLRB. The EEOC would get a nearly $20 million haircut to its $455 million funding level. Both agencies had faced furlough threats in recent years due to budget constraints. The NLRB plans to absorb the hit by reducing its headcount by nearly 100 people, mainly those who are taking advantage of the administration's deferred resignation program or early retirement offer. The EEOC's smaller budget is also notable because it would be tasked with enforcing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — which protects workers with disabilities from discrimination involving federal contractors — taking over from OFCCP. EEOC already handles other aspects of that law. Congress traditionally treats administration budget proposals merely as wish lists and draws up its own plans for the federal budget. But the Trump administration is going as far as it can — and then some, according to the Government Accountability Office— to put its vision in place unilaterally and essentially telling lawmakers to bless it retroactively, as evidenced by DOL's dismantling of OFCCP and Job Corps already underway. — Meanwhile, over at HHS: 'Trump cuts threaten safety training for America's most dangerous jobs,' from Reuters. GOOD MORNING. It's Monday, June 2. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related words: French ham trucks. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@ lukenye@ rdugyala@ and gmott@ Follow us on X at @NickNiedz and @Lawrence_Ukenye. And Signal @nickniedz.94. ICYMI: The Conversation kicked off with Dr. Oz In the premiere episode of The Conversation, Dasha Burns sat down with Dr. Mehmet Oz — now leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — for a candid talk on drug prices, potential Medicaid cuts and why he's getting early morning calls from President Donald Trump. Plus, POLITICO's Jonathan Martin dished on the Ohio governor's race (featuring Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel), and Kyle Cheney unpacked Trump's legal battle over 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Watch the full episode on YouTube. And don't miss a moment — subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get new episodes when they drop. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. AROUND THE AGENCIES ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC SERVICE: The Office of Personnel Management last week unveiled a pair of new policies toward the Trump administration's drastic shift in how workers are hired at the federal government. One deals with the Senior Executive Service, non-political appointees who hold some of the highest-ranking management roles in the civil service, and the other addresses the federal hiring system more broadly and is partially tied to a law passed in 2024 aimed at promoting skills-based hiring practices. Both are heavily infused with the Trump administration's anti-DEI ethos, and the latter of the two goes a step further to direct agencies to stop collecting or publishing demographic data of their workforces. The merit hiring plan also empowers political leadership to play a greater role throughout the hiring process, and lays out a series of essay questions for applicants to answer to gauge their patriotism — including one about which of the president's executive orders is 'significant' to them and how they'd work to carry it out. (Applicants also have to certify that they're not outsourcing their answers to AI.) The SES memo strips away some writing requirements to focus on resume-based initial screening. It also says that OPM is developing an 80-hour course for SES employees and aspirants lecturing them on 'President Trump's Executive Orders and other matters necessary to ensure that SES officials uphold the Constitution and the rule of law and effectively serve the American people.' OPM is looking to roll out that training program by Sept. 1. More agency news: 'Trump's fiscal 2026 budget would strip trans federal workers of insurance coverage,' from the Government Executive. Even more: 'Education Department Targets Pregnant, LGBTQ Staff Protections,' from Bloomberg. On The Hill HOW TRUMP GOT TO HAI: Trump's decision to green-light sale of U.S. Steel came after GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania warned administration officials that blocking the deal could lead to staggering job losses throughout the Rust Belt. Reps. Mike Kelly and Dan Meuser were among several Pennsylvania Republicans who pressed the administration to change course after Trump routinely insisted on the campaign trail that he was opposed to the deal. Nippon recently announced it would increase its investment in U.S. Steel's infrastructure and ensured the company would remain based in the United States, although the White House has yet to confirm the details of the agreement. Former President Joe Biden moved to block the sale shortly before leaving office after unions, including the United Steelworkers, launched a fierce lobbying effort to keep the company domestically owned. Our Ari Hawkins and Meredith Lee Hill have more. More hill news: 'Josh Hawley and the Republican Effort to Love Labor,' from The New Yorker. In the Workplace DISPARATE IMPACT DISSIPATES: The Trump administration's decision to drop the use of data to demonstrate discriminatory effects is quickly having wide-ranging effects across agencies and in court. The disparate impact theory was designed as a way to cover instances where discriminatory intent is not overt or direct. 'The legal theory has been consistently recognized by the Supreme Court, written into federal regulations and enshrined in employment law by Congress. But President Donald Trump declared it unconstitutional in April, issuing an executive order that kicked off an intense review of civil rights regulations, enforcement actions and settled cases,' The Washington Post reports. The EEOC under acting Chair Andrea Lucas is among the agencies that has stopped relying on such analyses. More workplace news: "Don't Call It a Side Hustle. These Americans Are 'Polyworking',' from The New York Times. Even more: 'Pension fund investors demand Elon Musk work 40-hour week at Tesla,' from the Financial Times. IN THE STATES GIVING IT ANOTHER GO: California labor groups are attempting to take another stab at raising the state's minimum wage after a similar attempt narrowly failed last November, our Will McCarthy reports for Pro subscribers. The Living Wage for All campaign seeks to raise Los Angeles County's minimum wage to $25 an hour with hopes of eventually going statewide with a push for a $20 per hour wage as a likely floor. California's Prop 32, a ballot measure to raise the state's pay floor to $18 an hour, failed by slightly more than a percentage point. Advocates would need to file the initiative with the secretary of state's office later this year to begin gathering signatures in hopes of getting the question in front of voters next year. More states news: 'Backlog, dismissals continue to grow in Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries,' from the Salem Statesman Journal. Unions FIRST IN SHIFT: The AFL-CIO is launching a six-figure ad buy targeting several House Republicans over their support of the GOP's reconciliation package that includes cuts to Medicaid. The ads, which slam members' votes to 'gut Medicaid' as 'unacceptable,' will run on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram and on local news sites. Republican lawmakers targeted by the organization's campaign include Reps. Scott Perry (Pa.), Nick Begich (Alaska), Max Miller (Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Derrick Van Orden (Wis.) and Tom Barrett (Mich.). TEACHER TRAINING: The American Federation of Teachers and CareerWise, a youth apprenticeship program, launched the Education and Apprenticeship Accelerator last week across six Democratic-led states to diversify workforce development opportunities for high school students. California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania signed on to the initiative, which aims to connect policymakers with educational organizations, unions and other industry partners to create increased apprenticeship offerings and awareness of these programs. GAO released a report Wednesday highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships and identifying federal programs that could provide such opportunities. More union news: 'Mulgrew wins reelection by smallest margin yet,' from our Madina Touré. WHAT WE'RE READING — 'How Trump's Regulatory Rollbacks Are Increasing Costs on Americans,' from The New York Times. — 'Targeting DOGE, labor group puts up billboards warning of heat deaths at national parks,' from NBC News. THAT'S YOUR SHIFT!
