WASHINGTON (AP) – Businesses and advocates for workers are teaming up against President Donald Trump’s budget plan to overhaul the way the government investigates workplace discrimination. It’s part of what his critics say is an unmistakable swipe at decades of civil rights protections.
Trump wants to merge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with a lesser known agency that also enforces laws on equality in the workplace. The administration says combining the two would reduce duplication by offering “one door” for discrimination complaints.
Business fears the proposal would create something of a super agency with overwhelming investigatory and punitive powers. Workers’ rights organizations predict declines in enforcement.
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, the only Latino in Trump’s Cabinet, is expected to be asked about the proposal at a House hearing Wednesday on the agency’s budget.