Top Labor Department aides resign as FMCS faces cuts

Lori Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed as Secretary of Labor in March 2025 after a single term in the House representing Oregon's 5th congressional district from 2023 to 2025. During that term she co-sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, one of the most expansive pro-union bills introduced in decades, and was one of only three House Republicans to back it. The Teamsters endorsed her nomination. Her confirmation was presented by the administration as an outreach to union households. Chief of staff Jihun Han had worked for Chavez-DeRemer since her time in Congress. Deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright had served as her Oregon district director. Both were placed on administrative leave in mid-January 2026 after a whistleblower complaint named them in allegations filed with the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General. Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito opened the probe. NBC News HR Brew

The IG investigation covers three distinct sets of allegations. The travel fraud inquiry examines whether Han and Wright fabricated Chavez-DeRemer's official travel schedule to convert personal trips — including visits to family and a birthday party — into government-funded official business. Falsifying records submitted to a federal agency is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, separate from any IG administrative finding. A second line of inquiry covers workplace conduct. Multiple former and current DOL staffers told the New York Times and the New York Post that Han and Wright verbally abused subordinates and created a hostile work environment. A former DOL staffer, Helen Luryi, told the Times that Chavez-DeRemer was embroiling the department in scandal and possible criminal activity. The third element involves Chavez-DeRemer's husband, Shawn DeRemer, an Oregon anesthesiologist — two female DOL staffers accused him of unwanted touching inside the Francis Perkins building. One incident in mid-December 2025 was reportedly captured on security footage. He was barred from entering DOL's Washington headquarters. His attorney denied all allegations. The Daily Beast HR Brew

On the night of Monday, March 2, 2026, the White House told Labor Department leaders to fire Han and Wright if they did not resign within 24 hours. Both resigned. The New York Times reported that the White House — not Chavez-DeRemer herself — drove the ultimatum. Karoline Leavitt had said in January that Trump was aware of the investigation and stood by the secretary. The administration did not announce any change to Chavez-DeRemer's own role. She remained secretary. The White House directing the resignations rather than allowing her to manage the situation herself put on public record how much autonomy she actually has over her own department. The Daily Beast The Hill

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is a small, independent federal agency that most Americans have never heard of, but it operates in the background of nearly every major labor dispute in the country. Congress established it through the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and deliberately placed it outside the Department of Labor. The reason was structural neutrality. Both unions and employers needed to trust the FMCS as an impartial mediator, and housing it inside a cabinet agency would allow whichever party controlled the White House to tilt its work. The FMCS handles thousands of mediations each year across industries from airlines and railroads to hospitals and municipal services. Budget cuts and political pressure on the agency undermine the neutrality that is its only value. When unions conclude the FMCS serves the administration's anti-union agenda, they stop bringing disputes to it. The result is more strikes, more prolonged disruptions, and larger economic costs for both sides. Harvard Law OnLabor Employment Law Letter

The Department of Labor proposed reverting to the Trump-era independent contractor classification test in early 2026, with a public comment window open until April 28. The Biden administration's 2024 rule had applied an economic reality test asking whether a worker is economically dependent on an employer, which made contractor misclassification harder to sustain. The proposed reversal returns to a narrower test that gives employers more flexibility to classify borderline workers as independent contractors. The practical stakes are large: workers classified as independent contractors rather than employees lose access to minimum wage protections, overtime pay, employer-provided health insurance, unemployment benefits, workers' compensation, and the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act. The change would affect tens of millions of workers in gig platforms, staffing agencies, trucking, construction, home care, and agricultural contracting. Employment Law Letter DOL OIG

The NLRB reinstated the narrower joint employer rule on Feb. 26, 2026, completing a rollback of the Biden-era standard. Under the Biden rule, a major retailer or fast-food chain that used a staffing agency could be required to bargain with the staffing agency's workers' union if the chain exercised indirect control over working conditions. Under the Trump NLRB's narrower standard, the primary company is shielded unless it has direct and immediate control over the specific day-to-day conditions of the workers. Florida's Senate Bill 1296, which passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on March 6, 2026, illustrates how the federal anti-union policy direction is being amplified at the state level. The bill requires public sector unions representing teachers, nurses, and municipal employees to recertify annually by proving majority support, instead of retaining certification after the initial election. Annual recertification is a resource drain that forces unions to run perpetual certification campaigns rather than organizing and bargaining. Employment Law Letter Florida Phoenix