Policy Week in Review – May 1, 2026

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Agencies Can Levy Monetary Fines Without Going to Court 

The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted a case, Sun Valley Orchards v. U.S. Department of Labor, asking whether federal agencies can collect monetary penalties through their in-house enforcement schemes. The case comes out of the Department of Labor’s procedure for enforcing wage violations in the H-2A visa program. The Department’s procedure funnels cases into a hearing before an administrative-law judge (an agency employee). That hearing can then be followed by an appeal to the Department’s own Administrative Review Board. Last year, a court of appeals held that this procedure violated Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Article III requires all “private rights” to be decided by an Article III judge. But the Department’s procedure, the court found, allowed it to collect civil fines and back wages without ever going to court. If that decision is now affirmed by the Supreme Court, it could curtail enforcement programs at many other federal agencies. A decision is expected sometime next year. 

President Trump Signs Executive Order Expanding Workers’ Access to Retirement Accounts 

On April 30, President Trump signed an executive order that directs the Treasury Department to set up a new website (TrumpIRA.gov) where American workers who lack access to employer-sponsored retirement plans can evaluate a menu of investment options and enroll in retirement plans. 

Presidential Task Force Releases Report on Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias 

President Trump’s Executive Order 14202 established the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Chrisitan Bias to investigate prosecutions, policies, and practices that have demonstrated anti-Christian bias throughout the federal government. On April 30, the Task Force published a report that contains a summation of its findings and details efforts it will take to detect and eliminate anti-Christian bias and religious discrimination. 

Senate Republicans Introduces Legislation to Expand Apprenticeship Opportunities 

In an effort to expand apprenticeship opportunities, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Apprenticeship Data Value Improvements to Create Employment (ADVICE) Act, which would create an advisory committee to make apprenticeship pay, retention, and program completion data recommendations. Additionally, Chair Cassidy and Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the Streamlining Timely Apprenticeship Registration and Transparency (START) Act, which would expedite the application review process for new apprenticeship programs.

Acting Attorney General Issues New DEA Order Reclassifying Some Marijuana Products as Schedule III Controlled Substances, Available by Prescription

With the stroke of a pen, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a new “final order” on April 23, 2026, that reclassifies FDA-approved medications that contain marijuana and marijuana products authorized pursuant to a state medical marijuana program as Schedule III controlled substances and makes them available by prescription, immediately. Any form of marijuana other than as found in an FDA-approved drug product or marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license continues to be illegal to use or possess as a matter of federal law, at least for now, meaning that any recreational use of marijuana falls outside of this order and is not protected. 

Littler WPI Files Comments Responding to DOL’s Proposed Rule on Worker Classification 

WPI filed comments responding the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed independent-contractor rule. The proposed rule would establish a standard for distinguishing between employees and contractors under several federal laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act. In its comments, WPI supported the rule’s general approach. The rule would focus on two main factors and resort to other factors only if necessary. That two-step approach, WPI said, would make the rule more workable than the Department’s existing one, which uses an open-ended balancing test. The streamlined approach would also offer certainty to businesses and workers, which is more important now than ever. In the modern economy, technology has allowed businesses to source more and more services from the open market. Technology has also allowed workers to access an unprecedented array of flexible work opportunities. The proposed rule would facilitate those opportunities and adapt to an evolving workplace. 

In all, more than 16,000 comments were filed. A final rule is expected to arrive in several months.