What The Hell America!

President Donald Trump’s power to reshape independent labor commissions — ones that often protect the country’s marginalized workers — has been in question since he fired several federal officials from their boards in January. 

On Tuesday, his administration tried to block two of them from returning to work, in cases that could have wider implications for Trump’s authority to fire independent federal workers despite built-in protections.

Earlier this month, a U.S. district court found that Trump’s January firing of Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was unlawful. Her dismissal, along with several others, raised immediate questions about the president’s ability to disrupt independent agency actions beyond the normal transitions between administrations.

Here’s what to know about the NLRB and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — and their futures under this administration.

What are the NLRB and EEOC?

The NLRB and EEOC are independent commissions created by Congress in 1935 and 1965, respectively. The NLRB conducts union elections and investigates unfair labor practices, while the EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. While the boards do not fall under the Department of Labor’s scope, they work toward a similar goal of advancing employee rights and investigations.

Under Biden, the NLRB announced changes meant to shorten delay tactics employers could use to stop or decertify unionization in the workplace. And the EEOC secured billions for workers who filed discrimination lawsuits and focused on LGBTQ+ discrimination, among other cases.

Why are they in the news this year?

In January, Trump dismissed Wilcox and general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo from the NLRB; Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels from the EEOC; and Cathy Harris, chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), a federal-worker protection agency — all Democrats. 

These firings suspended quorums on the boards at the time, making it impossible to enact any rulings or conduct investigations. The NLRB comprises three members of the president’s party and two members of the opposite party. When Wilcox was removed, the board lost quorum due to other vacancies. 

The EEOC is a five-member commission that needs three members to adopt new regulations and issue guidance. Trump’s removals left two commissioners; one seat has been vacant since July 2024. They are still able to investigate charges without a quorum. 

Trump signed an executive order in February that sought greater White House authority over independent regulatory agencies including the NLRB. Both these moves are a part of Trump’s overarching goal of undermining independent federal agencies within the executive branch.

What’s happened since the firings in January?

The court found in early March that Wilcox had been wrongfully dismissed by Trump and ordered the current chair to restore her access to the board and allow her to serve out her full term. The agency currently has three active members and quorum again.

Meanwhile, Burrows and Samuels have not returned to their positions at the EEOC. Abruzzo was expected to be fired as the NLRB general counsel as part of the transition to a Republican administration. 

On Tuesday, the D.C. court of appeals heard discussion over how far executive power can extend, including whether the president has  an “unrestricted power of removal” of certain key federal officials.

The Trump administration argued that he is empowered to supervise officers who wield executive power on his behalf and that they should remain accountable to the president. Harris and Wilcox’s counsel said that just because an agency like the NLRB is housed within the executive branch does not mean that their functions should be ruled unilaterally by executive power.

What could the NLRB and EEOC look like under Trump’s administration?

The EEOC’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, is still frozen from a lack of quorum, but her priorities involve rolling back several agency policies — in line with the Trump administration’s goal of rooting out policies aimed at advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government

The EEOC’s new desired policies would upend transgender workers’ access to legal recourse for discrimination or bias. Lucas’ priorities list highlights areas of policy change like “defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single‑sex spaces at work” — which could mean the commission picks up more lawsuits from people who object to the inclusion of trans women in women’s spaces.

The agency recently released statements about its stance on rolling back “the Biden administration’s gender identity agenda,” which included more explicit recognition of nonbinary and trans employees in workplace guidance documents. Lucas also has sent letters of inquiry to 20 law firms asking about their DEI-related employment practices.

Aggrieved employees are required to file charges with the EEOC or similar state agencies before they can sue. It is rare to get to the lawsuit stage, as the commission receives tens of thousands of charges every year, and the agency has already dropped several Biden-era lawsuits filed on behalf of trans workers. Workers can still file their own suits instead of going through the EEOC, but it would be more expensive. 

Meanwhile, the number of charges received by the EEOC based on sexual orientation or transgender status discrimination has nearly doubled over the past five years. 

“For the next four years, an LGBTQ person should not assume the EEOC is going to be a welcoming place for their charge,” Chai Feldblum, a former Democratic commissioner, told Bloomberg Law.

At the NLRB, acting general counsel William Cowen has said he wants to “focus on the bread and butter issues.” His predecessor, Abruzzo, had more progressive stances, supporting easing unionization processes or giving employment status to college athletes.

While the EEOC more directly oversees cases involving discrimination, the NLRB handles the National Labor Relations Act, which addresses any gender-based issues related to unionization and bargaining processes.