Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, HOUSE NEWS—Democratic representatives demand answers from Secretary of Labor about impacts of DOL’s layoffs, (May 12, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Among other things, the Democratic members of the Committee on Education and Workforce asked for a copy of a reported agreement made between DOL and U.S. DOGE Service purportedly providing for “transfer of funds” to the latter.

The Democratic members of the Committee on Education and Workforce late last week sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer voicing “serious concerns” about the administration’s “actions to undermine working people and incapacitate” the Labor Department. “In addition to stripping protections from millions of workers,” the members write, “President Trump has deputized Elon Musk, the world’s richest man” who operates with “autonomy ‘almost no one can control,’” and his “Department” of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to ravage DOL and dismantle the enforcement of workers’ rights and protections against law-breaking corporations and their wealthy executives.”

Concerns about data access. The letter includes a laundry-list of concerns created by DOGE’s “unfettered access” to DOL, whose systems are among “some of the federal government’s most far reaching and sensitive data systems.” It cites concerns about the “integrity of investigations into workplace health, mine safety, and child labor violations,” including witness and whistleblower identities; medical and financial information; “market-moving” Bureau of Labor Statistics data; and confidential business information of countless companies. Also at risk, the members write, is highly classified information about nuclear facilities and processes entrusted to DOL staff with security clearances under certain laws.

Conflicts and recklessness. “Of particular concern is DOGE’s unfettered access into DOL’s system given that Mr. Musk’s companies have been repeatedly investigated over dangerous working conditions,” the letter explains, providing several examples. “Beyond the glaring conflict of interest,” the letter adds, “Mr. Musk and his young and inexperienced team at DOGE are threatening the lives of all workers by recklessly terminating leases and shuttering offices of various DOL subagencies nationwide.” It cites closure of OSHA, MSHA, and WHD offices as examples and notes that the “forthcoming harm to workers by widespread office closures will only be compounded by the Department’s plans to decimate its already meager staff.”

“If dismantling the Department’s enforcement capabilities were not enough,” the letter adds, “President Trump is demanding that federal agencies rescind numerous regulations that safeguard workers from corporate abuses.” There are also reports that the administration plans “to stop enforcing some regulations altogether.” This reportedly will include DOL regulations, the members note.

Will not reduce waste. “Slashing DOL’s subagencies, field offices, and staff will not reduce waste, fraud, or abuse,” said the members in the letter. “Instead, it is an open invitation for employers to ignore workplace hazards, force miners to breathe toxic dust, staff children on overnight shifts at meatpacking plants or other dangerous jobsites, discriminate against workers, and steal workers’ wages without fear of any accountability.”

DOL agreement with DOGE. Noting that previous requests for information have gone unanswered, the members included a new five-item list to which they request responses by May 15, 2025, in addition to responses to the previous requests. Among other items, the members request that the Secretary provide an “unaltered and unredacted copy of DOL’s agreement with the U.S. DOGE Service, as referenced in a recent news report, that outlines protocols between the Department and DOGE employees, as well as the transfer of funds to DOGE for its services.” It also asks whether the Department has plans to restructure and reorganize and asks for all documents and communications relating to the rescission and nonenforcement of DOL regulations.

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