Federal News Roundup for Oct. 2, 2026

Bill Would Ban Paycheck Garnishment for Medical Debt

Democratic Reps. Bobby Scott (Virginia), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) and Greg Casar (Texas) recently introduced the Protecting Workers’ Wages from Medical Debt Act. This bill would prohibit U.S. workers’ wages from being garnished to pay for medical debt.

Research by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows approximately 100 million Americans currently owe $220 billion in medical debt, and billing errors commonly lead to higher-than-expected costs passed on to consumers. Recent reports also have called out an increase in hospitals and debt collectors suing patients for outstanding bills and forcibly garnishing their wages to repay the debt.

Currently, federal law allows up to 25% of a worker’s take-home pay to be garnished each workweek. More than 30 states have additional protections to prevent workers’ wages from being excessively garnished.

The bill would take protection a step further by banning any amount of a worker’s wage from being subject to garnishment for medical debt, and prohibiting any state or court from issuing or enforcing a wage garnishment order for medical debt.

The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Executive Order Eyes Links Between H-1B Visas, Domestic Layoffs

President Donald Trump recently ratcheted up his efforts to overhaul U.S. visa processing and immigration enforcement by signing Executive Order 14431 (“Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program”).

The order, which was published in the Sept. 23 Federal Register:

Aims to tighten oversight of the high-skilled foreign worker program by forcing federal agencies to heavily weigh corporate layoffs when evaluating employment-based visas; and,
Targets what the administration characterizes as structural flaws and employer abuses within the H-1B visa pipeline.

To execute the strategy, the president has directed the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to alter how they process H-1B petitions, labor condition applications (LCAs) and visa requests. Moving forward, these agencies are required to coordinate and consult with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration. According to the order’s text, this collaborative web would ensure strict compliance with statutory benchmarks and prevent outsourcing firms or tech employers from undercutting the domestic labor supply.

The most significant operational shift is the mandatory evaluation of an employer’s corporate downsizing history. Sponsoring companies now will face heightened scrutiny regarding their recent workforce reductions. Federal officials would systematically consider whether a sponsoring employer has engaged in layoffs within the previous year — or has active plans to conduct future layoffs — that affect U.S. workers who are similarly situated to the H-1B visa beneficiaries.

While the directive doesn’t explicitly prohibit a company from filing an H-1B petition following a round of corporate layoffs, it ensures workforce reductions will trigger deeper examination.

In addition to shifting guidelines for future applicants, the order takes an aggressive retroactive stance by instructing the DOL to review data from previously submitted LCAs for H-1B petitions within 30 days of the order’s signing.

Acting, No More: Sonderling Confirmed to Lead DOL

The Senate voted Wednesday, Sept. 30, to confirm Keith Sonderling as the nation’s Secretary of Labor and head of the DOL, solidifying his leadership at the agency he has led on an acting basis since April.

The 47-41 party-line vote officially elevates Sonderling to the cabinet post. The vacancy followed the resignation of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer on April 20 amid a sweeping internal investigation into alleged misconduct by her and her top aides.

Nominated by President Trump in June, Sonderling brings extensive federal labor enforcement experience to the role. He was tapped as deputy labor secretary last year after serving as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2020 to 2024. He previously served as the acting director of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division during Trump’s first presidential term.

With his formal confirmation secured, Sonderling is expected to pivot the agency back toward its core regulatory priorities after months of leadership uncertainty.

Social Security Terminology Bill Moves One Step Closer to Law

The Senate passed the Claiming Age Clarity Act on Tuesday, Sept. 29, a bipartisan bill designed to update the terminology used to describe Social Security retirement benefit options. The legislation now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

The bill focuses on changing bureaucratic language to help retirees better understand the financial tradeoffs of when they choose to file.

The bill’s advocates point out that current terminology often obscures the steep financial penalties of claiming benefits as soon as a worker becomes eligible.

Under the terms of the bill:

Age 62 would be described as “minimum benefit age” rather than the term the Social Security Administration currently uses, “early eligibility age.” At this age, benefits are permanently reduced by up to 30%.
For age 66 to 67, when an individual receives 100% of their earned benefits depending on their birth year, the agency would use “standard benefit age” rather than “full retirement age.”
Age 70 would be deemed “maximum benefit age” rather than “delayed retirement age.” Those at this claiming age receive an 8% benefit boost for each year delayed.

Bill Seeks to Lower Retirement Age for Those in Physical Jobs

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) on Sept. 24 introduced the Blue-Collar Social Security Fairness Act, a House bill that would allow Americans who work in physically demanding jobs to collect full Social Security retirement benefits when they turn 60.

Under current law, Americans born after 1960 can begin collecting full Social Security retirement benefits at age 67 or reduced early retirement at age 62. However, the bill states work-related physical limitations prevent many manual laborers from working until age 67.

“Unable to claim full retirement benefits and with the strains of their day-to-day blue-collar work becoming increasingly unbearable, these workers find themselves in a difficult position as they look toward retirement,” Stevens stated in a press release.

Stevens’ bill would lower the eligible age for full retirement benefits to 60 for Americans who work in industries such as manufacturing, construction and nursing. The bill outlines a “physically demanding job” as an occupation that, “as a condition of employment, imposes … substantial physical demands that may be reasonably expected to diminish the ability of the individual to perform such occupation, or other occupations imposing substantial physical demands, at an advanced age.”

The bill directs the Social Security Administration to identify and publish a comprehensive list of physically demanding occupations that would be covered under the legislation, and continue updating that list every three years.

The bill doesn’t require Americans to exclusively work in physically demanding jobs their whole careers to become eligible. Rather, it establishes a weighted points system based on years worked to assess eligibility. If an individual reaches a total of 15 points or 20 total years of physically demanding work across their career, they would qualify for early retirement once they turn 60. The points are tabulated as follows:

0.5 points for each year worked from the ages of 18 and 34;
1 point for each year worked from the ages of 35 and 44;
1.5 points for each year worked from the ages of 45 and 54; and,
2 points for each year worked above the age of 55.

Fact Sheet Targets Workplace Response to Opioid Emergencies

The DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Sept. 24 released a fact sheet to help employers and workers rapidly respond to opioid-related overdose emergencies in the workplace.

The guidance document, “Opioid Overdose Rescue with Reversal Medications”:

Provides practical information that focuses on empowering workplaces to recognize the signs of an overdose and act immediately; and,
Is part of a government-wide effort by the Trump administration to prioritize addiction treatment and recovery.

The fact sheet highlights key opioid overdose preparedness strategies, including:

Keep lifesaving, federally approved reversal medications (e.g., naloxone, nalmefene) on hand. These medications can quickly restore normal breathing and generally have no effect if opioids aren’t present.
Store overdose kits in highly visible, easily accessible locations — similar to how automated external defibrillators or standard first-aid kits are stored.
Educate workers on how to identify critical overdose symptoms (e.g., slow or stopped breathing, blue lips or skin, pinpoint pupils, unresponsiveness).
Prepare for rapid action in an emergency by training workers to administer the medication, safely position the individual and provide supportive care while waiting for first responders.

Bicameral Bill Pitches Value of 32-Hour Work Week

Rep. Mark Takano (D-California) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) recently reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The bill, first introduced in the House in 2021 by Takano, seeks to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for nonexempt U.S. employees. Covered employees would be eligible to receive overtime compensation for any hours worked beyond 32 hours in a standard workweek.

According to the bill sponsors, the legislation would better reflect current workplace reality. They said that since 1979, American workers’ productivity has risen 93% while wages have risen 34%.

“The 40-hour workweek was established in law nearly 90 years ago,” Takano said in a press release. “Since then, cell phones, the internet and now AI have increased worker productivity, but the profits have been largely concentrated at the top. Work has fundamentally changed. It’s time that labor standards caught up.”

The House referred the bill to its Committee on Education and Workforce.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics: