Proposed DOL Wage Division Cuts Signal Shift in Enforcement

Labor and employment attorney Timothy Taylor was interviewed for a Law360 article reviewing President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget, focusing on funding cuts for the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division. The Trump Administration's proposal sets aside $235 million for the Wage and Hour Division, down from $260 million in each of the previous two fiscal years, and the DOL said it would cut staff accordingly. A document released by the department offers more details, such as targeting enforcement on more egregious wage and hour law violations and dedicating more resources toward compliance assistance, in particular opinion letters. In response to concerns about reduced enforcement, Mr. Taylor commented that budgets and staff numbers can fluctuate, and the DOL's planned approach makes sense.

"There is no single, one magic number for how much the Wage and Hour Division should be funded or not, or how many people should be working there or not," he said. "Whether it's larger or whether it's smaller, the division's missions can remain the same, and they're just going to be wise in the use of resources."

READ: Proposed DOL Wage Division Cuts Signal Shift in Enforcement (Subscription required)