Punching In: Lawmakers Notice the Plight of Federal Workers

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

Federal Workers Get Their Own Caucus | States Want Employers to Flag Risks

Parker Purifoy: The rights of federal employees have become enough of a flash point for Congress that more than two dozen lawmakers have formed a caucus to champion the cause.

A bipartisan group of representatives and senators announced the formation of the Federal Workforce Caucus last week in a sign that there’s growing interest in pushing back against President Donald Trump’s dramatic reforms to civil service.

More federal worker-focused legislation could be on the table for 2026, although any bills likely face a veto threat from Trump. In December, the House passed a bill to repeal Trump’s executive order invalidating collective bargaining rights for two-thirds of the federal workforce in the name of national security. The measure was never taken up in the Senate.

Congress proved to be the most-effective shield against reductions-in-force for federal workers after lawmakers established a moratorium on the widespread layoffs that’s been in place since November.

The 25 lawmakers that launched the caucus are largely Democrats from East Coast states with large populations of federal workers but the gang also includes Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). Members said the caucus will work to advance policies improving recruitment, retention, and workforce morale, and encourage modernization and competitive pay across the civil service.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) denounced the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the executive branch agencies and bring them further under his influence during a press conference last week.

“Within hours of Donald Trump taking office, they took a wrecking ball to the federal workforce and to the important services they provide for the American people,” he said. “This caucus is going to help respond to the ongoing, clear, and present danger posed by this administration.”

The announcement came one day before the Office of Personnel Management announced sweeping changes to the way federal workers are classified, making it easier for the president to fire nonpolitical public employees. The final rule could reclassify thousands of policy-related positions into a new category called “policy/career,” loosening job protections and allowing political appointees to fire them without violating civil service laws.

“This is a direct attack on the fundamental idea of a merit based nonpartisan civil service,” Van Hollen said. “We’ll fight that in Congress. We’ll fight it in the courts, and we will fight it until we block it.”

The lawmakers were joined by Skye Perryman, president of nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward, and representatives from all of the large federal worker unions.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) speaks at the opening of the Federal Workforce Caucus (Photo by Parker Purifoy/Bloomberg Law)

Tre’Vaughn Howard: Washington state is rushing to strengthen excavation and trenching rules by mandating employers design detailed safety plans, reflecting a broader shift towards requiring companies to assess hazards at their own worksites.

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as DOSH, plans to hold hearings this week for a proposal that would shift the state away from its more general requirement that employers have a broad safety plan to a robust, detailed-oriented approach on a specific high hazard like trenching.

Trenching in construction entails workers creating a narrow excavation below the surface of the ground by using a machine such as a trencher. Although the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state OSHA programs reported a nearly 17% decline in fatalities for trenching, from 39 in 2022 to 12 in 2024, trenching and excavation work remains among the most hazardous construction operations. OSHA maintains a national emphasis program on trenching and excavation.

The state proposal requires employers to address dangers to their workers with the hope that it will reduce the likelihood of fatalities and injuries in the future.

Other states have similarly shifted more responsibility for flagging potential hazards onto employers. Nevada, for example, requires some employers to perform a one-time job hazard analysis of working conditions that could cause heat illness in order to tailor a written safety program for their workplace.

“The conclusion of fatality investigations in recent years suggest that a better approach to risk analysis could serve greatly to reduce the likelihood of similar fatalities in the future,” the state agency said in its proposed rulemaking.

DOSH didn’t respond to a request for comment on the exact number of fatal investigations that prompted the rulemaking.

The proposed amendments to the state’s safety rules introduce new requirements for what a “written work plan” for trench excavation entails, as well as implement new training and competent person requirements specifically for that type of work.

“Those requirements can really trip up employers if they’re not dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s,” said Karen F. Tynan, a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins who also serves as chair of the firm’s West Coast OSHA practice.

Employers will have a quick turnaround for getting into compliance as the state agency has plans to have these amendments—first introduced in early January—operative by this summer, Tynan noted.

Washington employers face penalties ranging from $100 for any standard non-compliance of the safety rule and up to $5,000 per violation for all willful violations with $2,500 per violation for a serious violation that leads to a fatality.

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers, please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.