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In the Media

3 Biden-Era Wage Regs That Could Sink In 2025

Read Time: 1 min

Member Susan Fahey Desmond (New Orleans) spoke with Law360 regarding the uncertainty facing the Biden administration’s rules determining overtime eligibility, sorting out whether workers are independent contractors, and raising federal contractors’ minimum wage.

Regulatory changes as administrations ping-pong between Republicans and Democrats are not unusual, as Biden “did a backtrack” of several Trump-era regulations, and Trump did the same with Obama-era regulations in his first term, said Susan Fahey Desmond of employer-side firm McGlinchey Stafford PLLC.

“We’re going to see the same thing here,” Desmond said, adding that the independent contractor rule would be the first one the new administration could try to reconsider.

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NLRB General Counsel Already Instituting Changes

March 6, 2025

On January 25, President Trump fired Jennifer Abruzzo, the previous NLRB General Counsel, in favor of William Cohen, a former NLRB board member. Cohen wasted no time in setting forth his potential policies.

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Trump on Education: DOE Targets DEI, Threatens Federal Funding

February 19, 2025

On February 14, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Education (DOE) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter threatening the federal funding of any academic institution that considers race in any manner of operation.

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Trump on Education: Transgender Women in Sports

February 7, 2025

The order, titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, noted that it would be the policy of the United States to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprived women and girls of fair athletic opportunities” and “oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports.” In effect, the order bans transgender women from competing in women’s sports at federally funded institutions.

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NLRB’s General Counsel Provides Guidance on Balancing NLRA and Equal Employment Laws

January 27, 2025

All employees have a right to engage in concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—often called “protected concerted activity (PCA)”—meaning that even in a non-union environment, an employer cannot retaliate when two or more employees are discussing the terms and conditions of their employment.

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Are Transgender and Non-Binary Employees Being Erased from Workplace Policies?

January 24, 2025

Due to growing awareness and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies (DEI) policies, the public has slowly begun to accept transgender individuals and those who do not identify as a man or a woman (non-binary). On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) that “[i]t is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female” – effectively reversing the Biden administration’s policies on DEI and transgender rights. The EO only applies to federal agencies, but could the concept gain traction in a Republican Congress?

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Will DEI Programs Become Extinct Under the Trump Administration?

January 23, 2025

In an effort to embrace diversity and inclusion, many employers established Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. The look of these programs varied from company to company; however, many of the programs specifically tried to give an advantage to racial minorities or women to even the playing field in the workplace since they tend to be underrepresented in the workforce.