Jacob Denz is a student at Harvard Law School
President Trump issued four executive orders Saturday. As Bloomberg recounts, the orders address continued expanded unemployment benefits, a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers, continued eviction protection, and student loan relief. Congressional Democrats criticized the measures as insufficient and a potential threat to Social Security. Meanwhile, Trump’s constitutional authority to act without Congress will likely be subject to legal challenge.
Trump’s unemployment insurance order would continue a reduced $400 per week benefit. States would provide 25% of the money from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), while the federal government would use the existing Disaster Relief Fund. Some states have already committed their CRF funds for other purposes such as health care, distance learning, and housing assistance. While Democratic leaders have criticized the $400 benefit as insufficient, some Republicans have suggested it is too generous.
The temporary payroll tax deferral would be in effect between September 1 and December 31, 2020. Workers would be required to make up the deferred payments after that time. Trump has suggested that he might extend the deferral and terminate the tax if he is reelected. Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden characterized the measure as Trump’s “roadmap to cutting Social Security.” In any case, the tax deferral will have little practical effect if employers simply continue to withhold payroll tax rather than risk being unable to fulfill their own back obligations to the IRS.
President Trump is also contemplating executive action to curb voting by mail, Politico reports. Conservative groups have challenged state vote-by-mail procedures in many courts, citing the potential for fraud. Trump’s opposition to voting by mail is part of a larger confrontation between the administration and the U.S. Postal Service. Trump’s ability to interfere directly with the postal service is limited by statute, while any executive order aimed at the electoral process would also be subject to constitutional and statutory challenge.
However, Trump has a strong ally in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who announced a major reorganization of the Postal Service Friday, according to The Washington Post. The reorganization centralizes power around DeJoy and displaces the top two executives in charge of day-to-day operations. The plan also includes a hiring freeze and a reduced number of units and postal regions. DeJoy’s previous cost-cutting measures have included a prohibition on working overtime or making extra trips to ensure mail is delivered on time. The USPS is in a tenuous financial situation and is currently projected to run out of money between March and October 2021. As part of a $10 billion loan agreement, the USPS has agreed to share with the administration proprietary contracts for its ten largest service agreements with private shippers.
States continue to take new measures in response to COVID-19-related workplace safety issues. Nevada became the first state to pass legislation specific to hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers in the state, The New York Times reports. The legislation will require daily temperature screenings, testing, and cleaning at workplaces in the state’s two most populous counties. However, it also grants businesses immunity from potential lawsuits by customers who become ill. In anticipation of the return of thousands of students to college campuses, Michigan has announced a series of webinars geared at bars, restaurants, and other local businesses. In Massachusetts, the Attorney General’s office continues to publicize workplace violations, which local newspapers can then report on a town-by-town basis.
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February 21
In today’s News & Commentary, Trump spending cuts continue to threaten federal workers, and Google AI workers allege violations of labor rights. Trump’s massive federal spending cuts have put millions of workers, both inside and outside the federal government, in jeopardy. Yesterday, thousands of workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research office were […]
February 20
President Trump's labor secretary pick retreats from some of her pro-labor stances during Senate confirmation hearing and Lynn Rhinehart discusses implications of NLRB and other agency removals.
February 19
In today’s news and commentary, Lori Chavez-Deremer’s confirmation hearing, striking King Soopers workers return to the bargaining table, and UAW members at Rolls-Royce authorize a strike. Lori Chavez-Deremer, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today. Chavez-Deremer may face more No votes from Republicans than other Trump cabinet members. Rand […]
February 18
In today’s news and commentary, an air traffic union examines the impact of federal aviation worker firings, Southwest Airlines lays off 15% of its corporate workforce, and the NLRB’s General Counsel withdraws Biden-era memos Following the Trump Administration’s dismissal of hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a […]
February 17
President Trump breaks campaign promise to support workers and Utah’s governor signs a law banning public sector collective bargaining
February 16
Unions fight unlawful federal workforce purges; Amazon union push suffers setback in North Carolina.