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Will America Be Made Great Again: Labor and Employment Law in the

Trump Administration

Ron Flowers

Burr & Forman LLP

rflowers@burr.com

(205) 458-5176

• When will Alexander Acosta be confirmed as Secretary of Labor?

• How much will Trump be involved in labor priority decision making?

• How quickly can he fill agency and court vacancies?

• How many Supreme Court justices will he replace?

Yet to be Resolved Questions

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Areas of Potential Change

• Executive Orders

• Agency Appointments

• Agency Rulemaking

• Proposed Legislation

• Judicial Appointments

Executive Orders

• Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal (signed January 20, 2017).

• Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies (issued January 20, 2017).

• Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze (issued January 23, 2017).

• Order Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs (signed January 30, 2017).

Executive Orders and Memoranda

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• Prohibiting LBGTQ Discrimination by Federal Contractors

• Minimum wage of $10.10 with escalator

• Paid sick leave

• Prohibition of campaign cost reimbursements in federal contracts

• Encouraging project labor agreements

Obama Executive Orders Not Addressed

• Ended OSHA’s “Name & Shame” Initiative posting citations and fines

• Revoked “Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces” executive order barring federal contractors with history of violations and requiring contractors to demonstrate compliance with executive orders and federal laws

• Trump Moves So Far

Andrew Puzder – Trump’s First Sec. of Labor Nominee

• CEO of CKE Restaurants since 2000

• Primary economic advisor for Romney campaign

• Frequent contributor to WSJ and other publications

• Faced scandals re: undocumented domestic worker and Oprah video detailing abuse allegations

• Withdrew from nomination on February 15

• 4 Republican Senators did not support

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Puzder Controversial Comments

• “I like our ads.  I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis.  I think it’s very American.”

• Machines are “always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip‐and‐fall or an age, sex, or race discrimination case.”

Puzder Views on Job Creation• “Government’s primary role 

should be to get out of the way and let individuals be enterprising, creative, innovative and hard‐working.”

• “Higher taxes, increased regulatory requirements, and wealth redistribution are antithetical to job creation and free enterprise.”

• “Higher taxes, more government create greater uncertainty and discourages investment and job creation.”

Puzder on Unions• Unions have strangled industries with excessive and anti‐

competitive payhikes.

• “Empowering unions can increase labor costs to the point of putting“As the no longer existent American garment industry or segments of the increasingly non‐competitive American automotive industry well demonstrate, empowering unions can increase labor costs to the point of putting employers in or near bankruptcy.  This is in the best interests of neither employees, employers, nor our potential for economic growth.”

• “The reality is that the free enterprise system by its nature encourages employers to value their employees and encourages employees to work to their maximum potential so that both enhance the value of their mutual endeavors.”

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Alexander Acosta – New Sec. of Labor Nominee

• Nominated February 16

• Dean of Florida Int’l Univ. School of Law

• Chairman of U.S. Century Bank

• NLRB Member 2002‐2003

• Ass’t Atty Gen. Civil Rights 2003‐2005

• U.S. Atty S.D. Fla. 2005‐2009

• Harvard Univ., Law, Kirkland & Ellis

Trump Critics Approve Acosta

• Wilma Liebman: “Even though we often came out differently on policy conclusions or the outcome of a case, he was a good colleague and he was always willing to talk and bounce around ideas, I would say he’s very smart and he’s an independent thinker.”  While unions may not “be thrilled with every decision he’ll make...they’ll get a good hearing.”

• Marco Rubio: “I know Alex Acosta well, and he is a phenomenal choice to lead the Department of Labor." 

Alexander Acosta

• Richard Trumka, President of AFL‐CIO: “Unlike Andy Puzder, Alexander Acosta’s nomination deserves serious consideration. In one day, we’ve gone from a fast‐food chain C.E.O. who routinely violates labor law to a public servant with experience enforcing it.”

• Acosta is believed to be more “mainstream” and more predictable than Puzder. “At the same time, most pundits believe that Acosta has the unique ability to take both employer and employee points of view into account when making decisions, which makes him particularly qualified for this position.”

• Delay in Sec. of Labor confirmation has caused continued delay in implementing conservative changes to Obama policies and agencies

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Acosta Confirmation Hearing

• Judiciary Committee hearings week of March 20

• Criticism from Democrats re: DOJ actions and refusal to discuss particular Obama rules, and Jeffrey Epstein plea deal

• Democrats spoke more favorably re: Acosta but still prevailed along party lines 12‐11 at committee vote

• Awaiting full Senate confirmation

Agency Appointments

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• Appointments Are A Coming!

– Current composition (2 Democrat, 1 Republican)

– 2 Appointments to fill vacancies

– Expect the composition of the Board to swing more Republican (will take time)

– Current members (Republican – term expires 2017, Democrats – 2018, 2019 )

• General Counsel—Not So Fast

– Keep in mind, however, change may be slow.

– The term of the current General Counsel does not expire until November 4, 2017.

A Fresh Set of Faces And Policies--Maybe

• Congressional action– New statutes

– Defunding enforcement

• Revising and/or rescinding rules

• Board decisions

Paths for Labor Rule Changes

• Bargaining units – “microunits”

• Joint employment

• Temporary employees

• Quickie rules?

• Concerted protected activities

• Class action waivers

• Social media clarification

Possible Reversals of Obama Board Activism

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Agency Rulemaking

“[U]nelected bureaucrats in the executive branch now write countless rules with the force of law and arbitrarily punish [those] who disobey those rules.”

Republican platform: “We call on Congress to begin reclaiming its constitutional powers from the bureaucratic state by requiring that major new federal regulations be approved by Congress before they can take effect, such as through the Regulation Freedom Amendment.”

What the President-Elect Says

In the September 26, 2016 debate, candidate Trump indicated a possible moratorium on agency rulemaking.

Trump has emphasized an effort to make the federal government more efficient, eliminate redundancies, and require performance within the various agencies.

A Rulemaking Moratorium

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• Increased Penalties

• Injury Reporting Requirements

• Electronic Reporting

• Anti-Retaliation

• Possible Increase in State Plans

Possible Changes to Recently Implemented Regulations

• Effective January 1, 2015

– Work-related fatalities must be reported within 8 hours – the same as before

– Work-related in-patient hospitalizations of one or more worker, amputations or losses of an eye must be reported with 24 hours

– Previous rule only required employers to report in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees within 8 hours.

– Fatality and injury reports will be posted on OSHA website.

• Effective January 1, 2017

– Employers with 250 or more employees must electronically submit injury and illness data

Injury Reporting Requirements

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• Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015

– “Catch-Up-Adjustment” based on Consumer Price Index

– Effective August 1, 2016

• New Maximum Penalties (assuming 80% increase):

– Other Than Serious - $7,000 to $12,600

– Serious - $7,000 to $12,600

– Repeat - $70,000 to $126,000

– Willful - $70,000 to $126,000

Increased Civil Penalties

• Effective November 1, 2016

– Employers must inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation

– Employer’s procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and not deter or discourage reporting

– Requires some employers to modify substance abuse testing guidelines

Anti-Retaliation Protections

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• Scheduled to go into effect Dec. 1, 2016

• Injunction issued by federal court in Texas on November 22nd

• DOL appeal was initially expedited with Reply Briefs due January 31; oral argument thereafter

• Since inauguration, DOL has filed two motions to extend the reply deadline “to consider the issues” and reply is currently due May 1

• Acosta opposes rule

FLSA Rules Increasing Salary Threshold

Proposed Legislation

• Paid Maternity Leave

• Incentivized employer-provided childcare

• Minimum wage increases

• Equal pay

• LGBT rights

Trump Has Expressed Support

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• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

• Paid family, medical, and sick leave

• Transgender rights (state and federal)

What the Future Holds is Unclear…

TRUMP AND THE COURTS

Neal Gorsuch – Supreme Court Nominee

• 49 years old• Appointed to 10th Circuit Court of 

Appeals in 2006 by George W. Bush

• Requires majority vote & overcoming filibuster (requires 60 votes, currently 52 Republican Senators

• Mitch McConnell – nuclear option, change rules to majority vote on Supreme Court nomination

• Constitutional and Statutory textualist and originalist like Scalia whom he would replace and would not change pre‐Scalia death composition

• Hearing expected to begin in April

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Gorsuch Impact on Court

• Conservative jurist in Scalia mold• Restores 4 to 4 conservative to 

liberal with Kennedy swing vote• Strong on:

– Religious expression– Free speech– Judicial checks on excessive 

regulatory state

• DNC: raises some serious questions whether he would interpret the Constitution for all of us and no just wealthy and whether he can make fair decisions based on facts of the case

Gorsuch Confirmation Hearings

• Hearings largely non‐controversial

• Gorsuch criticized by Democrats for dodging how he would decide particular issues

• Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed 11‐9 along party lines

• Senate confirmation vote Friday, April 7

• Filibuster? Rule change?

• One Supreme Court Nominee

• More than 80 federal district court vacancies (38 considered “emergency”)

• Only 22 district or circuit court confirmations since 2014

Judicial Appointments

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• Ruth Bader Ginsburg 83• Anthony Kennedy 80• Stephen Breyer 78• Clarence Thomas 68• Samuel Alito 66• Sonia Sotomayor 62• John Roberts 61• Elana Kagan 56• Neal Gorsuch? 49

Supreme Court Justices

Questions and Discussion