Committee Democrats Question Labor Department about Impact of Mass Layoffs on Workers
WASHINGTON – Committee Democrats are demanding answers from Department of Labor (DOL or Department) Secretary Chavez-DeRemer regarding mass layoffs at the Department and the Trump Administration’s continued attacks on working Americans.
This letter follows President Trump’s first 100 days in office, during which he stripped federal contract workers of civil rights protections and greenlighted Elon Musk and his associates’ access to sensitive data, including workers’ financial and health data, as well as data regarding ongoing investigations into Elon Musk’s own companies.
“Slashing DOL’s subagencies, field offices, and staff will not reduce waste, fraud, or abuse,” said the Members. “Instead, it is an open invitation for employers to ignore workplace hazards, force miners to breathe toxic dust, staff children on overnight shifts at meatpacking plants or other dangerous jobsites, discriminate against workers, and steal workers’ wages without fear of any accountability.”
The Trump Administration shuttered field offices for subagencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Wage and Hour Division, restricting workers’ access to necessary services. It is also in the process of dismantling the subagency of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, charged with protecting workers from discrimination in federal contracts, by closing most of its field offices and conducting mass layoffs to reduce the agency’s overall staff by 90 percent.
In accordance with the Committee’s oversight responsibilities, the members demanded that Secretary Chavez-DeRemer respond to questions regarding the Department’s reported restructuring and its impact on services that workers and their families rely upon.
To read the full letter, click here.
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