Employers shouldn't expect the midterm election results to quickly reverse federal workplace policy. A more likely result is a Washington that runs on two tracks: the administration will continue governing through executive action, and a Democratic-led Congress will use hearings, subpoenas and the power of the purse to exercise oversight and push back.
In 2025, the administration reversed policies through executive action. In 2026, it locked in those priorities through agency rules. 2027 may be the year of congressional resistance.
Oversight that could reach private companies
Under divided government, the president holds several key tools: executive orders, nominations and removals, acting appointments, rescissions, enforcement priorities and the veto. Congress turns to oversight hearings, funding limits and conditions, confirmations and new bills. Those bills could cover AI, disparate impact, workforce demographic data, LGBTQ+ protections and traditional labor protections.
For business, the key detail is that both chambers can subpoena private employers for documents or testimony. Companies could be drawn into investigations.
The federal agencies: Continuity, with pressure points
At the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), current priorities are likely to continue:
Final rules on EEO-1 reporting and employee-selection guidelines are expected in 2027. Congress may respond with oversight hearings, limits on DEI enforcement spending in the EEOC's funding bill, and bills on disparate impact and data reporting. One date to watch is July 1, 2027, when EEOC Commissioner Kotagal's term ends. The commission's quorum is at risk unless the Senate confirms a successor.
The Labor Department rescinded its rules under the federal-contractor affirmative action order, effective Oct. 26, 2026. It expects to finalize independent-contractor and joint-employer rules in 2027. Congress could try to overturn those rules under the Congressional Review Act, though the president’s veto power will very likely defeat such efforts. Other possible moves include subpoenas on H-1B actions, slower confirmations of Labor Department nominees and legislation to restore a federal-contractor equal employment opportunity regime.
The National Labor Relations Board is reviewing Biden-era precedents, including Cemex and Stericycle. If its three-member Republican majority ends after the expiration of Chairman Murphy's current term in December 2027, the timetable for decision-making may be limited to 2027.
Recent Supreme Court decisions add more uncertainty. Courts no longer defer to agencies on what statutes mean. Presidents can remove agency leaders at will. Civil penalties previously delivered out of the Department of Labor may require a jury trial. Even long-standing rules can be newly challenged. In practice, federal workplace policy is now easier to change and easier to contest.
Where publishers are most exposed
Several of these changes may impact how newspapers operate.
For publishers that rely on freelancers or contract delivery drivers, the most important rule to watch is the Labor Department's final independent-contractor rule, expected this month. It looks at the economic reality of the relationship, the degree of control and the worker's opportunity for profit or loss. Because Congress or the courts may challenge it, contractor arrangements should be able to hold up under more than one standard.
Newspaper groups that share printing, distribution or staff across entities should also follow the joint-employer rules closely, which decide when two companies share responsibility for the same workers. The NLRB restored its 2020 joint-employer rule in February 2026, and the Labor Department expects to finalize its own rule in 2027.
Unionized newsrooms and those facing organizing campaigns should watch the labor board closely. The board is in a position to revisit its approach to organizing rights and remedies. Cemex, Stericycle, McLaren Macomb, Thryv and Lion Elastomers are all on its decision calendar. In Congress, legislatively, the PRO Act and the Faster Labor Contracts Act are likely to take center stage.
AI: Federal retreat, state advance
The clearest split between the administration and a Democratically-controlled Congress will likely be over establishing governing structures regarding the use of artificial intelligence in hiring and discipline. Federal agencies have withdrawn their AI guidance, and the Justice Department has joined a lawsuit challenging Colorado's AI law. A broad federal law preempting state rules is highly unlikely, though smaller bills that target accountability and transparency of certain practices may gain bi-partisan support. Congress may also look into how the NLRB and the Labor Department handle the use of AI to monitor workers.
Meanwhile, states are moving ahead, and with a newly elected trifecta of Democratic leadership in the governor’s office and both state houses in at least five states, expect more legislation on the state side.
AI rules are already in effect in California, Illinois, New York City and New Jersey.
Connecticut, Colorado, California and Illinois have measures taking effect in 2027.
Fourteen state attorneys general say disparate-impact law applies to algorithmic hiring tools.
The midterm results have also put more states in a position to act. Newspaper groups with titles in several states are likely to feel this patchwork the most.
The takeaway
For employers, the main risk is instability more than any single rule. Federal priorities may hold for now, but they face more oversight, funding fights and legal challenges. The two quorum deadlines in mid- and late 2027 could slow the EEOC and the NLRB. Companies that use AI in hiring and discipline should plan around the growing set of state laws rather than wait for one federal standard. Publishers should also review their contractor and shared-staffing arrangements now, while the federal standards are still unsettled.
Camille Olson is a partner with Seyfarth Shaw and a member of the America's Newspapers board of directors.
