While Democrats’ legislative agenda for the incoming Congress is still taking shape, early indications suggest workplace and labor issues will have a prominent role.
And while the Senate filibuster and President Donald Trump’s veto power make it unlikely that new worker protections will become law, their inclusion in the Democratic agenda could keep them front and center in the national debate.
Democrats’ opening slate of legislation will likely include familiar proposals to raise the minimum wage, mandate paid sick leave, strengthen collective bargaining rights, and address the gender wage gap, Bloomberg Law reported.
The party also may pursue bills that would make it easier for workers to sue over their retirement plans and close a loophole related to retirement investment advice.
Democrats will oversee executive branch agencies that enforce federal labor and employment laws, including the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
They can be expected to exercise those powers aggressively.
Party members and labor leaders have already raised concerns about the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, particularly its reduced enforcement capacity and failure to issue a regulation to protect workers from heat, Bloomberg reported.
Other potential targets include the EEOC, which has recently prioritized protecting white men; the NLRB, which has taken an employer-friendly approach to labor relations; and the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, which has considered allowing private assets (like private equity and private credit) into 401(k) plans.
“There’s going to be a lot of oversight,” Alexander MacDonald, cochair of Littler Mendelson P.C.’s Workplace Policy Institute, told Bloomberg.
Democrats’ federal agenda could also influence the party’s priorities at the state level, where it made significant gains on November 3. Labor priorities like minimum wage hikes and paid family leave laws, mostly concentrated in deep blue states like New York and California, could become law in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Business advocacy groups are likely to mount opposition.
“We have concerns about all of them,” Amanda Fisher, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Michigan, told Bloomberg, adding that small businesses “just don’t have the staff or the resources to comply with these new mandates.”