The US Department of Labor plans to address joint employment and retirement investments amid a broad swath of rulemaking, according to the agency’s first regulatory agenda under the new Trump administration.
The roadmap was briefly posted Friday morning on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’s website before it was taken down, offering an early look at President Donald Trump’s second-term domestic agenda. He has ordered agencies to cut 10 regulations for every one they create, a dramatic expansion of his first-term policy.
The Office of Management and Budget didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Friday afternoon, the website was still down, with a notice that the site is under maintenance.
The since-removed agenda outlined several major new proposals, including reconsideration and rescission of Biden-era workplace rules that would make good on the Trump administration’s vision of “unleashing prosperity through deregulation.”
But several key measures were absent from the plan, such as rules on overtime pay thresholds, short-term and association health plans, and mental health parity in insurance coverage.
Joint Employer, Worker Classification
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division appears poised to revive a polarizing debate over which businesses should be held accountable as joint employers for minimum wage and overtime violations—an issue that has previously roiled fast-food franchisors like
A new proposal—slated for December—would be the first attempt to change the standard since the Biden administration rescinded a business-friendly, Trump 1.0 rule that required one business to exert “actual” control over another company’s workers.
The agency said in the Friday posting it is considering Fair Labor Standards Act regulations that would “guide” enforcement to “help promote greater uniformity among court decisions nationwide.” In addition to wages, the FLSA governs child labor and other requirements for employers nationwide.
Separately, the WHD is eyeing a September proposal to clarify its approach to determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee under the FLSA.
The long-standing legal debate is a closely watched issue by nearly every industry, but especially among construction, trucking, and gig economy companies like
Biden’s version of the classification rule—which made it harder to treat workers as contractors—was heavily litigated. The Trump DOL in May directed its staff not to enforce the regulation.
Retirement Investing
The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration said it plans to revisit a key Biden-era fiduciary rule that expanded strict standards of conduct to cover 401(k) rollovers.
The rule was previously stayed by two federal district courts in challenges brought by insurance industry groups. It is now before the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, but the DOL has delayed the litigation while it considers a rule rewrite.
It also confirmed it will replace a Biden environmental, social, and governance investing regulation, which made it easier for retirement plan fiduciaries to include green options in plan lineups.
The Biden ESG rule initially survived a red state legal challenge before Trump’s DOL announced its intention to abandon it.
An EBSA rule with the Treasury and Health and Human Services departments to boost requirements and enforcement of medical price transparency is slated for September, while another rule targeting consultant fees and other elements of pharmacy benefit managers’ finances is due in November.
The agencies will also update a requirement for insurers to include “good faith estimates” of out-of-pocket costs in patients’ explanations of benefits under the No Surprises Act, a statute that aims to reduce unexpected out of network bills. Another long-awaited rule on the agenda would implement changes to communications and billing practices between insurers and medical providers in NSA arbitration.
Worker Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration appears to be continuing rulemaking for worker heat stress protections as part of nearly 60 planned regulatory moves.
Excessive heat continues to be top of mind for industries that have been debating over a Biden-era proposed rule. The agency concluded its informal public hearings on that measure in early July and plans to receive additional input from stakeholders who testified during the hearing.
Additionally, OSHA included an item titled “OSHA Standards Improvement Project 2025.” It’s unclear whether it’s connected to “Project 2025,” a conservative policy blueprint the president had distanced himself from. However, additional details were unavailable before the regulatory agenda was taken down.
Separately, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking to eliminate discretionary authority for its district managers to approve the contents of mine operators’ ventilation plans.
Seasonal Farmworkers
Meanwhile, the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration plans to overhaul wage regulations for the H-2A seasonal farmworker visa program.
The Trump administration has received pressure from the industry to relax immigration enforcement targeting the agricultural workforce, amid fears it will damage the country’s food supply chain.
The agency in February next year plans to revise the adverse effect wage rate, which industry groups say is unaffordable for many farms.
A separate proposal slated for this year would update the certification process for seasonal farmworker visas.
Federal Contractors
The DOL reiterated it will officially rescind regulations under decades-old Executive Order 11246 that established core powers for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Trump in a January directive revoked the EO, gutting the watchdog’s ability to police for race and sex bias at companies that do business with the government.
The DOL said it plans to remove references to EO 11246 in separate regulations that still allow the OFCCP to enforce affirmative action and anti-bias protections for veterans and disabled workers.
The administration seeks to move those functions elsewhere in the government and shutter the OFCCP, though the agency recently walked back planned layoffs for the office.
— With assistance from
To contact the reporters on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: