Labor Department chaos hides an anti-worker agenda

Labor Department chaos hides an anti-worker agenda
Dysfunction at the NLRB has grown to the point that it’s even beginning to hurt employers

By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published March 13, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Earlier this year, a Boston Trader Joe’s worker had their wrongful termination case dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board, with the board providing no other explanation than “lack of cooperation.”

This, however, was just the reason given as part of the board’s recent policy of dismissing cases that fall short of their new standard, which requires those bringing cases to gather and present information that was previously gathered by a board investigator. The board explained this is part of a new phase of investigation meant to determine whether a case might be eligible for summary dismissal, at least under the new standard.

Under the policy, the charging party — typically an employee or union alleging an unfair labor practice — is required to file a timeline of events related to their allegation, documentation of those events, like communications and phone records, and a list of witnesses they plan to bring and a summary of their testimony. All of this was previously collected and presented by a board investigator, but now workers must make their case before a board investigator is even assigned. If workers fail to collect this information, they can expect the board to dismiss their case.

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The whole ordeal, however, is indicative of a department that has garnered attention for the chaos at the leadership level, but which is quietly plugging away at the conservative vision for labor in the United States.

At the top, the Department of Labor appears to be a mess. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the one-term Oregon Republican congresswoman tapped by Trump to lead the department, has been engulfed in scandal since January. Chavez-DeRemer has faced allegations she was romantically engaged with a security staffer, allegations which she has denied while Trump has expressed ongoing support for her. Separately, Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Shawn DeRemer, has been accused of sexual assault by two women at the department and banned from its buildings. An attorney for DeRemer has also denied allegations against him. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/03/13/labor-department-chaos-hides-an-anti-worker-agenda/