Freedom of Information Act Requests Seek Information on Efforts to Eliminate U.S. Department of Labor Agency Dedicated to Promoting the Welfare of Women in the Workplace 

Washington, D.C. – A trio of advocacy organizations represented by Democracy Forward are seeking important information about Trump-Vance administration plans to hamstring and shutter the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor – an important federal agency dedicated to studying and improving the lives of working women. 

The Women’s Bureau has existed for more than a century and is charged with conducting research, analyzing public policy, and promoting the welfare of women in the workforce through education and outreach. The Bureau also maintains a national database of childcare prices by county, regularly reports on states’ paid leave programs, and distributes grant funding to groups that do critical work in communities to support and recruit women into high-wage careers where they are typically underrepresented. Since President Trump’s inauguration earlier this year, the Women’s Bureau has reportedly lost more than two-thirds of its staff. The Bureau also cancelled more than $1.4 million in funding issued through its Fostering Access, Rights and Equity (FARE) grant program which focuses on the prevention of, and support for workers who experience, gender based violence and harassment.  The elimination of this program cut off lifelines for projects that had already been underway throughout America.

In requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on behalf of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (Alianza), Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc (CDM), Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), Democracy Forward requested information and communications that could help shine a light on operations at the Bureau since January 20, 2025, and will help uncover the underhanded and possibly unlawful way the Trump-Vance administration has gone about shutting down the Bureau and ending its important work. 

“Efforts to eliminate the Women’s Bureau suggest yet another step in the ongoing effort by the Trump-Vance administration to undercut progress made by women in recent years,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Democracy Forward is honored to work with Alianza, CDM, and ERA to investigate the harmful attempt to eliminate this important agency. We are committed to ensuring programs created by Congress to study and improve the lives of working women – and the important role they have played in the lives of women throughout the nation – persist.” 

“Alianza Nacional De Campesinas (Alianza), an alliance of 18 women-led organizations and groups, stands firmly with the working women of the U.S. and our request submitted under the Freedom of Information Act. This administration’s ongoing efforts to impact such a vital branch of research and educational outreach is a direct attack on the working women and families of this country, especially farmworkers who are essential to feeding the nation. We demand clarity on the  decimation of the Women’s Bureau which upholds support systems for workers impacted by gender based violence and harassment,” said Mily Treviño-Sauceda, Executive Director of Alianza Nacional De Campesinas. 

“Fighting against discrimination and gender-based violence in the workplace should not be a controversial issue. CDM joins this quest for truth and transparency to better understand the logic behind the termination of critical and potentially life-saving resources and programs for women workers,” said Rachel Micah-Jones, Founder and Executive Director of Centro de los Derechos del Migrante.

“The Trump-Vance administration’s assault on the Women’s Bureau is part of a dangerous pattern of systematically dismantling critical worker protections and civil rights enforcement across federal agencies. By slashing staff and abruptly canceling over $1.4 million in anti-harassment grants, this administration has created an accountability vacuum that will leave working women—especially those facing gender-based violence and discrimination—without essential support. These FOIA requests will help expose the underhanded tactics being used to gut an agency that has protected women workers for over a century, and we’re committed to using every legal tool available to challenge these destructive actions,” said Melvina Ford, National Legal Director for Equal Rights Advocates. 

Read the FOIA requests here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.