Bloomberg Law: Democratic AGs Gear Up to Fight Trump on Workplace Law Issues
Democratic attorneys general are preparing to counter the incoming Trump administration’s workplace law policies, in which diversity and discrimination issues will play a prominent role.
Democratic attorneys general are preparing to counter the incoming Trump administration’s workplace law policies, in which diversity and discrimination issues will play a prominent role.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to revive many employment-related policies that faced legal challenges during his first term—ranging from changes in the way tipped employees are paid to a rollback of workplace injury reporting requirements.
Blue-state attorneys general will be a key line of defense for Democrats in Trump’s second term if he makes anticipated changes to the federal government’s approach to civil rights law. They’ll be up against a federal judiciary that has grown more conservative.
“As we did during Trump 1.0, we’re prepared to be very active in our litigation strategy,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an interview. “We will ensure the Trump administration’s actions in the worker and labor space are lawful and vigorously guard that boundary.”
AGs were involved in 160 lawsuits contesting Trump’s first-term actions across many policy areas, according to a database maintained by Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University.
Since the first Trump administration, the US Supreme Court issued a 2023 decision striking down affirmative action in higher education, sparking heightened legal activism against diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.