Latest news with #WomeninApprenticeshipandNontraditionalOccupations
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump looks to close 105-year-old department that supports women workers despite insinuating it would stay
The Department of Labor said it would 'eliminate' the Women's Bureau, a century-old department that focuses on advocating for economic equality and safe working environments for women, despite the secretary insinuating it was here to stay. When pressed with questions about the Department of Government Efficiency cutting grants administered by the Women's Bureau at a House Appropriations Committee meeting on May 15, Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer responded by emphasizing its history. 'Statutorily, the Women's Bureau is in statute,' Chavez-DeRemer said in response to Representative Rosa DeLauro's concerns. While Chavez-DeRemer's comment stopped short of a promise, she did not elaborate on the future of Women's Bureau, but insinuated the 105-year-old department was here to stay. Yet the Department of Labor's 2026 fiscal year budget in brief anticipates eliminating the Women's Bureau, calling it a 'relic of the past' and 'an ineffective policy.' 'The Department will work with Congress to craft a repeal package of WB's organic statutes, including the Women in Apprenticeship in Non-Traditional Occupations grant authorization. Apprenticeship work will be handled by the Employment and Training Administration,' the Bureau of Labor wrote. The Independent has asked the Department of Labor and the White House for comment. The elimination of the bureau, by giving it no funding in 2026, is the latest move by the Trump administration to override Congress's authority and get rid of previously appropriated funds for what it believes is unnecessary or does not align with the president's policies. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to be women's 'protector' and insisted they would be 'happy, healthy, confident and free' under his administration. However, the Trump administration believes the Women's Bureau 'has struggled to find a role' in advancing the interests of women in the workforce, according to the budget brief. 'The Bureau works on a wide range of issues and its work is not always closely coordinated with, or informed by, the agencies that actually have the resources to address the issues at hand,' the Department wrote in its FY 2026 budget in brief. Established by Congress in 1920, the Women's Bureau is the only federal agency mandated to represent the needs of wage-earning women. It conducts research and policy analysis to advocate for policies that improve working conditions and increase profitable opportunities for women in the workforce. That includes getting more women to high-paying jobs, expanding access to paid leave and affordable child care, eliminating pay inequality, as well as harassment in the workplace. Part of its role includes grant-making and managing the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant program. The Women's Bureau also has the authority to investigate and report on matters about the welfare of women in industry to the Department of Labor. Nine current or former Department of Labor staffers told Mother Jones they believe shuttering the Women's Bureau aligns with the administration's desire to have women stop working and stay home to raise children. 'It really feels like a specific [effort] to get women out of the workplace,' Gayle Goldin, the former deputy director of the Women's Bureau under the Biden administration, told Mother Jones. 'We really still need the Women's Bureau, because we need to be able to identify what the problems are, see where the barriers are for women in the workplace, and ensure that women have full capacity to enter the workplace in whatever job they want.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge blocks Labor Department from enforcing key part of Trump's anti-DEI executive orders
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Labor from requiring contractors and grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs that run afoul of anti-discrimination laws until further order from the court. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit dedicated to training and retaining women in skilled construction trades that receives several grants from the Department of Labor. The certification provision is a key part of President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at curbing DEI programs because contractors and grant recipients could be subjected to crippling financial penalties under the False Claims Act if they are found in violation of it. The lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades argued that Trump's executive orders infringe on First Amendment Rights and are so broad and vague in their definition of what might constitute illegal DEI as to make compliance impossible. Kennelly had already issued a temporary restraining order against the Labor Department last month that was shorter in duration. His order is limited in scope because he declined to extend the injunction to other federal agencies beyond DOL. However, he ruled that Chicago Women in Trades was ultimately likely to succeed in its lawsuit against key parts of the executive orders, writing that it is 'anything but obvious' what constitutes 'illegal DEI programs' in the government's view. The lawsuit is one of several challenging Trump's executive orders targeting DEI programs in both the private and public sectors. A federal appeals court last month lifted a Baltimore judge's block on the anti-DEI orders in a similar case. Trump signed two DEI-related executive orders in January, one of which directs federal agencies to eliminate their own DEI activities and end any 'equity-related' grants or contracts. The other takes broader aim by imposing the certification provision on all companies and institutions with government contracts or grant dollars. It also directs federal agencies to identify private companies, non-profits or foundations for potential investigation into DEI practices. In response to Tuesday's ruling, Justice Department spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said that the DOJ "has vigorously defended President Trump's executive actions, including the order to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs, and will continue to do so.' Chicago Women in Trades and lawyers for the organization had no immediate comment. Kennelly on Tuesday also prohibited the Labor Department from canceling or freezing a congressionally-appropriated grant to Chicago Women In Trades under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations initiative, which aims to expand pathways for women seeking to enter skilled trades. Kennelly said taking away that grant would violate separation of power provisions under the Constitution. However, Kennelly's injunction is narrower in scope than his earlier decision to prohibit the Labor Department from canceling all grants to Chicago Women in Trades. ________ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
15-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Federal judge blocks Labor Department from enforcing key part of Trump's anti-DEI executive orders
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Labor from requiring contractors and grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs that run afoul of anti-discrimination laws until further order from the court. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit dedicated to training and retaining women in skilled construction trades that receives several grants from the Department of Labor. The certification provision is a key part of President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at curbing DEI programs because contractors and grant recipients could be subjected to crippling financial penalties under the False Claims Act if they are found in violation of it. The lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades argued that Trump's executive orders infringe on First Amendment Rights and are so broad and vague in their definition of what might constitute illegal DEI as to make compliance impossible. Kennelly had already issued a temporary restraining order against the Labor Department last month that was shorter in duration. His order is limited in scope because he declined to extend the injunction to other federal agencies beyond DOL. However, he ruled that Chicago Women in Trades was ultimately likely to succeed in its lawsuit against key parts of the executive orders, writing that it is 'anything but obvious' what constitutes 'illegal DEI programs' in the government's view. The lawsuit is one of several challenging Trump's executive orders targeting DEI programs in both the private and public sectors. A federal appeals court last month lifted a Baltimore judge's block on the anti-DEI orders in a similar case. Trump signed two DEI-related executive orders in January, one of which directs federal agencies to eliminate their own DEI activities and end any 'equity-related' grants or contracts. The other takes broader aim by imposing the certification provision on all companies and institutions with government contracts or grant dollars. It also directs federal agencies to identify private companies, non-profits or foundations for potential investigation into DEI practices. In response to Tuesday's ruling, Justice Department spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said that the DOJ 'has vigorously defended President Trump's executive actions, including the order to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs, and will continue to do so.' Chicago Women in Trades and lawyers for the organization had no immediate comment. Kennelly on Tuesday also prohibited the Labor Department from canceling or freezing a congressionally-appropriated grant to Chicago Women In Trades under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations initiative, which aims to expand pathways for women seeking to enter skilled trades. Kennelly said taking away that grant would violate separation of power provisions under the Constitution. However, Kennelly's injunction is narrower in scope than his earlier decision to prohibit the Labor Department from canceling all grants to Chicago Women in Trades. ________ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
