How Might Lori Chavez-DeRemer Impact the DOL and OSHA?
On November 22, 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Given her record in Congress, her nomination raises questions about the extent to which the Trump administration will regulate and deregulate at the Department of Labor (DOL). To better understand how Chavez-DeRemer could impact the tree care industry, TCIA’s government-relations team has put together the following analysis.
Tree Care Standard and Heat Injury and Illness Standard
As Secretary of Labor, Chavez-DeRemer will oversee OSHA and possibly influence Trump’s pick for Assistant Secretary for OSHA. Whoever is nominated and confirmed will oversee efforts to implement the tree care standard that TCIA has advocated for for more than 20 years, as well as the recently proposed heat standard.
In the Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda, the Biden administration’s OSHA indicated that they would aim to publish a proposed Tree Care Standard in December 2024, though in early December it appeared unlikely that the agency would meet that timeline. As such, the Trump administration will likely be tasked with moving the standard forward.
Though we have no public record of Chavez-DeRemer’s support or opposition to implementing an OSHA tree care standard, a couple of hints could provide insight on whether she would move the standard forward. First, her home state of Oregon implemented its own tree care standard in 1990. The draft federal standard, advanced during the first Trump administration’s small-business review process, was modeled after Oregon’s and other state-specific tree care standards, as well
as the ANSI Z133 industry-consensus standard. Additionally, bipartisan support for the rule, combined with her support for worker-safety initiatives during her Congressional tenure, suggests she could be receptive.
Another OSHA regulation that TCIA has been watching is the heat-injury-and-illness standard. The Biden administration formally published a proposed rule on heat injury and illness in the late summer of 2024, and comments on this rule are due on January 14, 2025. Chavez-DeRemer has not publicly weighed in on the proposed heat standard, but her record in Congress may indicate that she would be responsive to pushing through a heat standard if confirmed as DOL Secretary.
Specifically, Chavez-DeRemer co-led a provision in an Agricultural Labor Working Group report that recommended the creation of a federal heat standard for H-2A workers. Notably, however, she did not co-sponsor the bipartisan Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act (H.R. 4897), which directed OSHA to establish a permanent federal standard to protect workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat, both indoors and outdoors.
It is also worth noting that Oregon implemented its own heat-illness-prevention standard in June 2022. Chavez-DeRemer has not made comments about her state’s standard, but again, she may be open to implementing a heat standard that looks similar to the standard set in Oregon.
Registered Apprenticeship program
Like OSHA, DOL hosts the Employment and Training Administration, which has oversight over workforce-development programs such as the Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program. If Chavez-DeRemer is confirmed, we expect that she will seek to bolster the Registered Apprenticeship program through new regulations.
During Chavez-DeRemer’s time in Congress, she joined a letter to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in August 2023 encouraging DOL to move forward with new National Apprenticeship System Enhancements regulations, which were published as a proposed rule in January 2024 but later withdrawn by DOL in November 2024. The proposed rule was criticized by many industries and trade associations for creating burdensome changes that could make it harder for employers to participate in RA programs.
Notably, Chavez-DeRemer did not publicly support the proposed rule after it was published, but she also did not sign on to comments opposing the proposed rule from Republicans on the House Education & the Workforce Committee – a congressional committee she serves on.
In addition to her support for DOL to move forward with the National Apprenticeship System Enhancements, Chavez-DeRemer also has made public comments during her Congressional term outright supporting RA programs. In a 2023 Education and the Workforce Committee hearing, Chavez-DeRemer expressed her preference for Registered Apprenticeships over Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs), stating that while she is not supportive of eliminating IRAPs, she believed such apprenticeship programs must meet standards like those set for Registered Apprenticeships.
Despite Chavez-DeRemer’s public support for Registered Apprenticeships, she will still be under the direction of President Trump, whose first-term DOL implemented a final rule to officially recognize Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) as an alternative to Registered Apprenticeships. While it is unknown if and when DOL will attempt to reregulate the national-apprenticeship system, it would not be surprising if Chavez-DeRemer’s DOL moved forward with regulations to bolster both Registered Apprenticeships and IRAPs.
H-2B visa reform
During her time in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer supported several immigration bills aimed at securing the southern border and modernizing the immigration system. Notably, she cosponsored the Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023 (H.R. 3599, known as the “DIGNIDAD” or “Dignity” Act), which is a broad immigration bill aimed at enhancing border security, creating pathways to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants and addressing workforce challenges by reforming legal immigration programs.
The Dignity Act has several provisions on H-2B visa reform, including a provision to exempt returning workers from any one of the three previous fiscal years from counting against the annual visa cap. The bill also requires employers who utilize H-2B visas to maintain a workplace safety and compliance plan that meets the standards set by DOL through regulation.
Chavez-DeRemer’s support for the Dignity Act suggests that DOL may address workforce needs within the H-2B program. While major changes, such as increasing the visa cap, require congressional action, DOL could influence the program through regulatory enforcement, including setting wage standards and ensuring compliance with labor protections. Additionally, DOL and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may continue to authorize supplemental H-2B visas through temporary final rules when permitted by Congress.
Regardless of her positions on immigration, any actions taken under her leadership also would need to align with the Trump administration’s broader priorities, which could include stricter labor-market tests, enhanced visa enforcement or even scaling back certain temporary-worker programs to prioritize U.S. employment.
Conclusion
Chavez-DeRemer will need to be confirmed by the Senate in order to serve as DOL Secretary. Confirmation hearings and votes will soon be underway, during which we’ll learn more about Chavez-DeRemer’s priorities if confirmed as Secretary. TCIA will continue to keep members apprised of additional updates related to Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination and regulatory actions taken at DOL.
Bailey Graves is a senior associate with Ulman Public Policy, TCIA’s Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and lobbying partner.