04:05 AMERICAS
Service Suspension and Scrubbed Websites The agenda of the Trump team in many ways is clear. An attempt to completely remake the government bureaucracy is underway. This is to fulfill a transparent campaign goal to dismantle the current administrative state and replace it with a more efficient system that will not interfere as much with commerce and individual rights, and, importantly, is less resistant to the directives of the President. However, with certain statements and actions, like the use of the quasi-official Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the introduction of the “External Revenue Service,” there is an unpredictable nature to this administration. And potentially an inconsistent approach to achieving the goals set out. Currently, the process is in the breakdown phase. The new administration’s efforts to streamline the federal government, partly by cutting headcounts in agencies but also in cutting programs, could affect the services, guidance, and outreach payroll departments have come to rely on from agencies.
Witness the dramatic changes taking place at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was completely shut down with workers told to go home and not work, with key guidance on its website at least temporarily removed. Certain regulations and policies of the CFPB cross into the payroll realm, such as guardrails for implementing direct deposit, payroll cards, and earned wage access (EWA, which is discussed further below). But most visible initially is the effort to eliminate any promotion or celebration of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within the federal government. First to go were staff set up to achieve a more inclusive work environment in the bureaucracy. Most agencies have now pivoted from celebrating achievements of minorities and women to scrubbing all references to any such efforts on websites, repainting walls in buildings that highlighted achievements by minorities and women, and even temporarily removing website landing pages, such as the one for Virginia’s U.S. Army Women’s Museum.
76 I 04:05
GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE ISSUE 9
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online