Trump's Eeo Law Violation: What's The Verdict?

In 2017, the Trump administration announced a review and immediate stay of the EEO-1 pay data collection rule, which was an Obama-era rule issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The rule would have required large companies to confidentially report to the EEOC information about what they pay their employees by job category, sex, race, and ethnicity. The Trump administration's decision to stay the equal pay data rule made it harder for employers and federal agencies to identify pay disparities and root out employment discrimination.

In addition to this, the Trump administration has been accused of attacking federal employees who are victims of workplace discrimination by making it harder for them to report and win their cases. A draft proposal by the EEOC would seek to overturn a long-established precedent and exclude union reps from receiving official time to help their coworkers with their EEO complaints. This means more victims of discrimination will likely lose their cases as they won't have access to the help they need.

Trump's Muslim ban

On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order banning travel to the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The order also suspended the resettlement of all Syrian refugees. This was the first version of what became known as the "Muslim Ban".

The order sparked protests around the country and was challenged in court by immigrant rights, refugee resettlement, and civil liberties organizations on the grounds that it constituted religious discrimination. The suits against the travel bans resulted in court injunctions temporarily blocking the order. However, on June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion, ultimately allowed a third version of the executive order to go into force. This final version included additional countries: Venezuela (limited to government officials) and North Korea.

The ban was widely condemned as cruel, inhumane, and a violation of international law. It prevented refugees and travellers from Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, including those fleeing torture and mass murder in their home countries. The ban also halted the US refugee resettlement program for 120 days and indicated that the US would slash the maximum number of refugees it would accept.

The Trump administration justified the ban as a necessary measure to protect national security and prevent terrorism. However, critics argued that it was a form of blatant bigotry and discrimination, as all of the affected countries had a Muslim majority. The ban also excluded countries with which the Trump Organization had conducted business, such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

The Muslim Ban caused confusion and hardship for travellers, students, and green-card holders, with many stranded in foreign countries or detained upon arrival in the US. It also had economic impacts, affecting US businesses and contributing to a decline in tourism.

The Muslim Ban was one of several policies enacted by the Trump administration that were seen as targeting Muslims and immigrants, including the expansion of the US-Mexico border wall and the separation of migrant children from their families. These actions have been widely criticized by human rights organizations and the international community as violations of human rights and international law.

The rescinding of Obama's Clean Power Plan

On June 1, 2017, Donald Trump announced the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and on October 9, 2017, Trump-appointed EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced the formal process to repeal the Clean Power Plan would begin the following day. The Clean Power Plan was an Obama administration policy aimed at combating climate change that was first proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2014. The final version of the plan was unveiled by President Barack Obama on August 3, 2015.

The Clean Power Plan was one of the first major initiatives in the world to curb internal greenhouse gas emissions. The plan focused on reducing emissions from coal-burning power plants and increasing the use of renewable energy and promoting energy conservation. White House officials also hoped the plan would help persuade other countries that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide to officially pledge to reduce their emissions.

The Trump administration replaced the Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. On June 19, 2019, the EPA issued the final Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE), which replaced the Clean Power Plan. On January 19, 2021, the last full day of the Trump administration, the D.C. Circuit vacated the Affordable Clean Energy rule and remanded it to the EPA for further proceedings. The ruling did not reinstate the Clean Power Plan.

The rescinding of Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program

On June 15, 2017, the Trump administration rescinded the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program, an initiative by the Obama administration that would have offered a pathway to citizenship for immigrant parents with children who are citizens or residents of the United States.

DAPA was announced on November 20, 2014, by President Barack Obama, and was a planned United States immigration policy to grant deferred action status to certain undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States since 2010 and have children who are either American citizens or lawful permanent residents.

DAPA was not a law passed by Congress but a presidential executive action. It was prevented from going into effect as several U.S. states filed lawsuits against the federal government, arguing that it violated the Constitution and federal statutes. A temporary injunction was issued on February 16, 2015, blocking the program from being implemented while the lawsuit proceeded.

On June 15, 2017, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, after consulting with the Attorney General, signed a memorandum rescinding the November 20, 2014, memorandum that created the DAPA program. The rescission was due to there being "no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy."

The rescinding of Obama's Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order

On March 27, 2017, President Trump rescinded the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which had been signed by President Obama. The order was designed to ensure that federal contractors were providing safe and fair workplaces for employees by encouraging compliance with federal labour and civil rights laws. It also prohibited the use of mandatory arbitration for certain disputes.

The rescinding of the order was seen as a blow to workers' rights and protections. The Obama administration had argued that the order was necessary because, every year, tens of thousands of American workers were denied overtime wages, not hired or paid fairly because of their gender or age, or had their health and safety put at risk by corporations contracting with the federal government that cut corners.

The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order was to govern new federal procurement contracts valued at more than $500,000. It required agencies to ensure that prospective contractors disclosed any labour law violations from the past three years before they could get a contract. It also required contractors to collect similar information from subcontractors.

The order also included a paycheck transparency clause, which required contractors to disclose information about compensation and employment status to workers for federal contracts exceeding $500,000. This was to ensure workers could verify the accuracy of their paychecks.

Additionally, the order directed companies with federal contracts of $1 million or more not to require their employees to enter into predispute arbitration agreements for disputes arising out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or from torts related to sexual assault or harassment.

The rescinding of Obama's overtime rule

On June 27, 2017, Labor Secretary Acosta requested information on the Obama-era overtime rule, signaling his intent to lower the salary threshold. The Obama administration's rule would have extended mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million U.S. workers and doubled the maximum salary a worker could earn and still be automatically eligible for overtime pay to about $47,000.

On March 7, 2020, the Trump administration released its proposal to raise the salary threshold to $35,308, far lower than the Obama administration's rule. On September 24, 2020, the Department of Labor released its final overtime rule, which raises the salary threshold to an amount far lower than the Obama administration's previously finalized rule.

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