Policy Week in Review – June 5, 2026

NLRB Chair Murphy and General Counsel Carey Testify at House Subcommittee Hearing 

On June 4, the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing, with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chair James Murphy and General Counsel Crystal Carey as witnesses to examine the policies and priorities of the NLRB. Chair Allen asked about the timing of an initial contract. GC Carey explained that, from certification, the extensive process of ascertaining, gathering, and responding to information pertaining to the specific employer, industry, and employees, as well as the time needed to draft proposals, can take time and should not be rushed. Chair Walberg, alluding to the imminent House floor vote on the “Faster Labor Contracts Act,” stated that the federal government should stay out of union negotiations and not impose contract terms on the parties. Other highlights of the hearing included a discussion on the NLRB’s ongoing efforts to clear the backlog of cases and hiring authority to onboard new employees to the field this fiscal year. Click here and here to read the witness testimony and view the hearing here. 

Senate Passes Reconciliation Bill to Fund ICE and CBP  

The Senate early this morning passed the $69.6 billion reconciliation bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to carry out immigration enforcement operations through 2029 (the end of President Trump’s term). The bill passed along a party-line vote of 52-57, with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) as the only Republican “no” vote. The House is expected to vote on the bill next week. 

House Appropriations Committee Releases FY27 Labor-H Bill

The House Appropriations Committee released its FY27 bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (“Labor-H”). The bill makes a $3.7 billion cut to the Department of Labor’s current funding level. Of note, it eliminates funding for Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) (consistent with the president’s Executive Order 14173), the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, and the Women’s Bureau. The bill prioritizes funding to expand apprenticeships, grow the American cybersecurity workforce, provide worker training in rural communities, and fund community college training grants. The bill also contains a policy rider barring the NLRB from implementing or funding electronic voting for union representation elections. For additional highlights, read the Subcommittee’s summary of the bill here.

House Members Release Bipartisan Discussion Draft to Create Federal AI Framework 

On June 4, Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a comprehensive discussion draft of the “Great American AI Act,” bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for the regulation of artificial intelligence. The discussion draft is intended to solicit feedback from stakeholders and the public before the bill is formally introduced. Notably, Section 121 preempts any state or local law or regulation targeting the development of AI models and sunsets three years post-enactment of the legislation. 

You can read here for a section-by-section of the draft, and read here for the Representatives’ op-ed titled, “America Needs One National Framework for Artificial Intelligence.”

Senate to Hold Confirmation Hearing on NLRB Nominations 

The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, June 10 at 10:00 a.m. to consider the nominations of James Macy and David Prouty to be members of the National Labor Relations Board, as well as Brett Matsumoto to be commissioner of labor statistics at the Department of Labor. Click here to watch live.

House Expected to Vote on “Faster Labor Contracts Act” Next Week 

As previously reported, the “Faster Labor Contracts Act” (FLCA) (S.844/ H.R. 5408) is expected to be on the House floor via a discharge petition for a vote next week, likely June 9 or 10. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), a broad-based business coalition, released a white paper, detailing why the FLCA is bad for workers, employers, and the American Economy, and sent a letter, signed by 376 organizations, to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to oppose the legislation. 

EEOC Releases New Enforcement Plan for FY25-29 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Thursday issued its new National Enforcement Plan (NEP) for FY 2025-2029. As described by the agency, the purpose of the NEP is to focus and coordinate the agency’s work and activities, including outreach, public education, technical assistance, enforcement and litigation, to have a sustained impact in advancing equal employment opportunity. Read Littler’s ASAP here.

OLMS Enhances Reporting Requirements for Big Unions 

The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) published a new rule requiring big unions to report more detailed information about their finances. OLMS is a subagency of the U.S. Department of Labor, responsible for overseeing union and employer disclosures. Its new rule creates a new reporting form, the LM-2 Long Form. This new form must be filed by unions with annual revenue of at least $40 million. These unions must separately itemize any source of income of at least $5,000. They must also separately report expenses like foreign transactions, travel expenses, lobbying, and other political activity. The administration says that the new rule will make unions more transparent and more accountable to their members. 

Trump Administration Rolls Back Job Protections for Policymaking Employees

By executive order, President Trump reclassified about 8,000 federal employees into a new “Policy/Career” category. Employees in that category will not be covered by standard civil-service rules related to misconduct and poor performance. That means they can be fired more easily. The administration created the new category in February. At the time, it estimated that the category could include as many as 50,000 employees. The order affects a much smaller group, but the group could be expanded later.

Among the employees affected by the order are many senior directors, agency attorneys, budgetary officials, and economists. The administration has argued that these employees help make federal policy and so must be accountable to the president. But critics, including some large labor unions, have accused the administration of politicizing the civil service. Several of them have sued to block the new classification. Their lawsuit is still pending in a federal district court. 

DOL Issues Opinion Letters on Overtime Exemptions, Bonuses, and Compensable Time

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued new opinion letters that address the following: 

• DOL Provides Guidance Related to Pre-Shift Work, Limits on the De Minimis Doctrine, and Timekeeping Rounding Practices 
• DOL Opinion Letter Confirms Voluntary Off-Site Travel Does Not Make Meal Periods Compensable
• DOL Confirms Exempt Employees May Be Paid for Performing Nonexempt Work 
• DOL Endorses “Bonus Pool” Approach to Calculating Percentage Bonuses