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Inthe sweep of American history, these authorities are relatively new. They largely come from Congress’s attempts in the middle of the 20th century to resolve major political questions brought about by labor conflict, the civil rights movement, and the emergence of the modern workplace. The 21st century has brought about new challenges, ranging from collapsing manufacturing sector employment and a decrease in family-supporting jobs, to the massive expansion of an increasingly radical human-resources bureaucracy. In many cases, these challenges are as significant as the 20th century labor crises and workplace changes that the agencies were developed to manage.

But the agencies have failed to respond to these challenges. Despite significant progress by the Trump Administration, a massive administrative state now hangs over productive industry and labor organization, acting as a damper on social and economic life. And under the Biden Administration, that administrative state has imposed the most assertive left-wing social-engineering agenda in the agencies’ history and ratcheted up regulatory costs on small businesses and other productive industry. The agencies’ authorities have been abused by the Left to favor human resources bureaucracies, climate-change activists, and union bosses—all against the interest of American workers.

NEEDED REFORMS

Reverse the DEI Revolution in Labor Policy. Under the Obama and Biden Administrations, labor policy was yet another target of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DED) revolution. Under this managerialist left-wing race and gender ideology, every aspect of labor policy became a vehicle with which to advance race, sex, and other classifications and discriminate against conservative and religious viewpoints on these subjects and others, including pro-life views. The next Administration should eliminate every one of these wrongful and burdensome ideological projects.

Eliminate Racial Classifications and Critical Race Theory Trainings. The Biden Administration has pushed “racial equity” in every area of our national life, including in employment, and has condoned the use of racial classifications and racial preferences under the guise of DEI and critical race theory, which categorizes individuals as oppressors and victims based on race. Nondiscrimination and equality are the law; DETis not. Title VII flatly prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The President should:

• Issue an executive order banning, and Congress should pass a law prohibiting the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to fund, all critical race theory training (CRT).

• Direct DOJ and EEOC to enforce Title VII. The President should

direct the Department of Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce Title VII to prohibit racial classifications and quotas,