How Su’s nomination gives the GOP two bites at the apple

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FIRST IN SHIFT: Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) this morning are sending a letter to the head of California’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency demanding a 2017 memo issued by then-state labor commissioner Julie Su reportedly instructing agency staff to deny entry to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking to apprehend undocumented immigrants without a warrant.

“Julie Su stated that she ‘does not have access to this reported memo and do[es] not recall its precise contents,’ the pair wrote to LWDA Secretary Stewart Knox. “Therefore … we request that your office produce a copy of the 2017 memorandum issued by Julie Su to the Committee by May 8, 2023.”

At the time, California officials had reported at least two instances of federal immigration authorities showing up to labor proceedings to detain undocumented workers, the Los Angeles Times reported. California has a number of legal protections for immigrant workers who raise labor complaints, and state officials were alarmed these actions may have been part of an effort by employers to silence workers by using their immigration status against them.

The letter is the latest in a string of document and informational requests by GOP lawmakers related to Julie Su, the Labor Department’s acting secretary and President Joe Biden’s nominee for the permanent gig.

Su’s dual status is unique for a Labor secretary nominee, and unusual for Cabinet posts more generally. Additionally the uncertainty over her confirmation has emboldened Republicans to critique her leadership on two separate, yet overlapping, fronts — as both a pending nominee and a current agency leader.

Just last week Cassidy pressed Su, in her DOL capacity, to respond to questions about the agency’s handling of child labor exploitation, and then blasted her for not sufficiently responding shortly before a HELP committee vote on her nomination.

Likewise, House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has hammered Su twice this month for not agreeing to testify before the committee in May — adding that DOL has indicated a June availability, at the earliest — and vowed to keep up the pressure.

“Her destiny might be out of the House’s hands,” Foxx said in a floor speech Thursday. But, “I promise to continue to conduct robust oversight of the Labor Department or the department of any radical who threatens our nation’s workforce.”

For its part DOL has largely opted not to return fire, other than to broadly defend Su’s experience and tenure as deputy secretary. The agency declined POLITICO’s request for comment.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, May 1. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Send feedback, tips, and exclusives to [email protected] and [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @nickniedz and @oliviaolanderr.

Around the Agencies

DIGGING IN ON ‘BURROWING’: The Office of Personnel Management rejected about one in five requests from federal agencies to convert a political appointee to a career-track employee, according to an audit from the Government Accountability Office.

There are a strict set of rules surrounding the practice — somewhat nefariously termed “burrowing” — designed to safeguard the hiring process from being influenced by political pressure and ensure that the applicants are qualified for the particular career job.

But in nearly a quarter of the 161 instances analyzed by GAO from March 2016 to Jan. 2021 the agency did not properly seek OPM pre-approval before making the hire.

Not sinking in: “OPM has issued memoranda to agencies reminding them of their responsibilities to get pre-clearance for hiring political appointees into career roles in several instances, including in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022,” Government Executive reports.

More agency news: “Amazon Cited by Regulator for Failing to Aid Injured Workers,” from Bloomberg.

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On the Hill

SKY’S THE LIMIT: More than 30 House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday that would ratchet up the federal government’s ability to levy fines for child labor abuses, The Washington Post reports.

The legislation would authorize DOL to impose up to $700,000 per federal labor law violation that results in serious injury of death — and up to 10 years of prison for repeat violators. DOL is currently limited to less than $69,000 for such violations and $15,138 for ones that do not involve serious bodily harm.

“Federal labor protections have not been strictly enforced; the Labor Department has fewer than 1,000 inspectors to police tens of millions of U.S. businesses. State officials are frequently the foremost investigators on child labor abuses, experts say, but local fines vary and are sometimes negligible,” the Post reports.

Unions

TENSION IN TINSELTOWN: Hollywood is on the verge of a writers’ strike, a bit over a decade after a previous one lasted for 100 days and disrupted numerous productions in 2007-2008.

The existing contract for unionized guild writers expires Monday, and the ones covering directors and actors expire at the end of June.

The threat of a work stoppage has the industry scrambling to set up contingency plans, from finishing up scripts to delaying production, The New York Times reports.

Related: “Why Are TV Writers So Miserable?” from The New Yorker.

In the Workplace

TRUMP REKINDLES FEUD WITH FEDERAL WORKFORCE: Former President Donald Trump has unveiled a slew of policy proposals designed to combat a federal workforce he believes impeded his agenda last time around, NBC News reports.

“Recently, Trump has called for all federal employees to ‘pass a new civil service test’ that aligns with his view of how the government should work and ‘put unelected bureaucrats back in their place.’”

Trump has also called for restoring Schedule F, an executive order that makes it easier for a president to terminate tens of thousands of government employees by redesignating them outside of civil service protections. Similar ideas have also garnered support from other GOP presidential hopefuls.

More workplace news: “The ‘open secret’ in most workplaces: Discrimination against moms is still rampant,” from The 19th.

IN THE STATES

WHAT ARE LAWS WHEN YOUR FRIENDS MAKE THEM? Democratic lawmakers in New York’s Assembly have been availing themselves to a new perk: an unlicensed child care center in a nondescript room in the Capitol.

“The complimentary child care service, which has been staffed by two legislative aides, has provided ‘drop-in’ day care services for a handful of Democratic Assembly members since it was quietly launched earlier this year,” the Times Union reports. "[O]ne of the aides does regular state Assembly work when she is not working in the center. The other works exclusively in the center.”

After the story was initially published, the state’s Office of Children and Family Services said it would look into the matter.

Immigration

USCIS WARNS OF H-1B COLLUSION: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Friday companies may have worked together to unfairly up their chances of obtaining visas for their foreign workers in the H-1B lottery, Olivia reports. USCIS has looked into fraud, it said in a notice.

“The number of eligible applications for workers that had multiple applications submitted on their behalf jumped almost 150 percent over the two most recent” H-1B lottery seasons, Olivia wrote on USCIS’s data.

H-1B apps submitted to the lottery for next fiscal year also rose overall, but by a smaller proportion, according to the data.

Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO President Jennifer Dorning called for an end to the lottery and said “employers can, and do, game the H-1B visa lottery system.”

“[A]s long as the lottery system exists, companies will take advantage of it to the detriment of all professionals,” Dorning said in a statement first to Shift.

H-1B visas have been a point of disagreement between labor and immigration groups, with some immigration groups coming out against efforts to rein the program in.

More immigration news: “Democratic mayor becomes unlikely GOP ally in battle over Southern border,” from POLITICO New York’s Julia Marsh and Joe Anuta.

What We're Reading

— “Ben & Jerry’s Agrees to Workers’ Proposed Principles in Union Bid,” from Bloomberg.

— “Worker pay is rising, complicating the Fed’s path,” from The Washington Post.

— “Why Work Friends Are Crucial for Your Health,” from Time.

— “I Cloned Myself With AI. She Fooled My Bank and My Family,” from The Wall Street Journal.

THAT’S ALL FOR SHIFT!

Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter gave the incorrect title for the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO.