Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—Secretary announces ‘aggressive deregulatory efforts,’ faces immediate backlash, (Jul 8, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

“There is a need for an examination of how your stated commitment to protecting children and workers squares with what appears to be a plan to reduce those very protections,” Representative Bobby Scott wrote.

Just before the holiday, Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer unveiled the Labor Department’s planned deregulatory efforts, which the press release claims “aim to cut regulatory burdens, spur job creation, and fuel economic opportunity for American workers and businesses.” According to DOL, this effort encompasses, initially, 63 deregulatory actions.

“One of President Trump’s very first actions was directing his cabinet to dismantle the mountain of outdated rules that have held back American workers and businesses for far too long,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “The Department of Labor is proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity. These historic actions will free Main Street, fuel economic growth and job creation, and give American workers the flexibility they need to build a better future.”

Over 60 on the chopping block. “The Department of Labor’s actions are unprecedented,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling, “slashing more than 60 obsolete and burdensome regulations impacting American workers.” Under Trump’s first term, DOL took 37 deregulatory actions, according to the release, then, as now, acting upon President Trump’s instructions to deregulate.

However, not everyone is in favor of the changes being planned by the Labor department.

Scott’s letter. “There is a need for an examination of how your stated commitment to protecting children and workers squares with what appears to be a plan to reduce those very protections,” Representative Bobby Scott, Ranking Member of the House’s Committee on Education and Workforce, wrote in a letter to Chavez-DeRemer.

Scott voiced concerned about proposals that appear to undermine core worker protections. According to the public database maintained by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Scott noted, the Department has recently submitted over a dozen draft rulemakings for review. According to the Ranking Member, these proposals appear to target core worker protections, including changes to child labor rules and the potential elimination of federal minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers.

Scott points out in the letter that at a hearing held in early June, Chavez-DeRemer declined to “affirmatively state” that she “would oppose rolling back child labor rules.” However, she claimed that she “will work absolutely to combat all child labor.” In the letter, Scott asks her to “square[]” this statement with the indications from draft rulemakings available on the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) database that appear to indicate a “plan to reduce those very protections.”

Scott requested a briefing within one week of the letter’s date to clarify how the Department’s regulatory actions align with its stated priorities, particularly in light of Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s previous testimony.

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