5 Employment Laws That Could Disappear Under Trump

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on November 28, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

As a Trump administration gets ready to take over the federal government, there are plenty of questions about what existing laws and regulations will remain intact and which will be jettisoned. For example, Dodd-Frank and the Affordable Care Act are likely to be trimmed back, if not fully eliminated. The future of the Paris climate agreement is in doubt. Even Broadway musicals are facing a more contentious future.

President-elect Trump has vowed to repeal many of President Obama's signature laws and has committed his administration to a regulatory reform agenda based on "canceling overarching executive orders and a thorough review to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations." Which ones are most likely to go? Corporate Counsel's Rebekah Mintzer recently rounded up the five labor and employment laws that are likely to be repealed under a Trump administration. Here's a quick roundup.

1. Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order

The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, also known as the "blacklisting rule," would require companies bidding for federal contracts to disclose their past labor violations. The rule is already somewhat on hold after an unfavorable ruling in federal court, but Mintzer's sources believe it could be one of the first executive orders President Trump undoes.

2. Joint Employer Standard

The National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor have recently expanded their joint employment standards. Under these agencies' new interpretation of joint employment, companies need only have indirect control over employees in order to be considered joint employers. Those positions are already being challenged in Congress. Under a new administration, Congressional action rolling back joint employment interpretation would no longer face a possible veto.

3. White Collar Overtime

The Department of Labor's first major changes to overtime rules since 1975 could see overtime pay expanded to millions of higher-paid employees, doubling the max salary cap from $23,660 to $47,892. The rule was slated to go in to effect on December 1st, but was blocked by a federal judge in Texas last week. Under Trump, it could disappear for good.

4. Faster Union Elections

Another likely victim under a Trump administration is snap union elections, according to Mintzer. NLRB rules in place since April of 2015 shortened the delay between a union petition and election, from five weeks on average to three now, but those gains could easily be undone.

5. Challenges to Arbitration Agreements

Finally, the federal government may take a different approach to mandatory arbitration agreements. The NLRB under President Obama has repeatedly challenged such agreements in employment law disputes, something a President Trump could put an end to.

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