In a sweeping deregulatory push, the Department of Labor has announced that it is trashing more than 60 rules governing the workplace that have been imposed by previous administrations.
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, in announcing the move, said her department is “proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity.”
Getting rid of the rules, continued the Labor Secretary, will “free Main Street, fuel economic growth and job creation, and give American workers the flexibility they need to build a better future.”
Among the rules being discontinued: anti-discrimination regulations enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; affirmative action requirements for registered apprenticeship programs; and rules protecting collective action and concerted activity in the agriculture industry.
Additional discarded rules: what have been described as “duplicative” requirements in the mining industry, and “outdated requirements for the approval process” for such things as conveyor belts that are used in coal mines.
The Labor Department’s actions is in response to an executive order issued by President Trump in January mandating that all federal agencies should endeavor to eliminate a minimum of ten existing regulations for every new rule.
The Trump order expands on an earlier directive he issued during his first term requiring that two federal regulations be done away with for every single new rule.
In a statement, Keith Sonderling, assistant Labor Secretary, said his agency was “proud to stand with this Administration to deliver economic security for working families by eliminating job-killing and inflation-driving red tape.”
July 10, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Department of Labor, Shawn T Moore
