Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump

As we get closer to election day, the presidential race is heating up. The 2020 election outcome will have a significant impact on employment law over the next four years. Biden has promised to implement policies that protect workers and unions, expand ACA coverage, and impose more government oversight on the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump, on the other hand, will continue his efforts to restructure or eliminate the ACA, create greater transparency with hospital and prescription costs, and escalate the lifting of quarantine restrictions to hasten economic recovery. Regardless of your political views and preferences, it is important to be aware of how workplace regulations could be shifting due to the 2020 election.

Below is a list of each presidential candidate’s position on key issues that impact employment law.

Joe BidenDonald Trump
Minimum Wage
  • Supports raising federal min wage to $15/hr by 2026
  • Wants to end the tipped min wage and the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities
  • President Trump has opposed House legislation that raised the minimum wage rate
Paid Leave
  • Supports paid-leave proposals
  • Wants to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave that is funded
  • Supports paid-leave proposals
  • Favors the Advancing Support for Working Families Act  that would allow individual taxpayers an advance up to $5,000 in the year a child is born or adopted
Labor Relations
  • Supports bill Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act), which would make it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors and expand the definition of a “joint-employer.”
  • Supports allowing workers to organize unions more easily through the signing of authorization cards
  • Wants to impose criminal liability on executives for “interfering with organizing efforts and violating other labor laws”
  • Opposes the PRO Act amending the National Labor Relations Act and labor laws extending protections to union workers
Health Care
  • Supports maintaining and expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
  • Supports lower premiums, deductibles, and drug prices via the ACA
  • Plans to allow employees to receive coverage on the ACA exchange even if their employer offers ACA-compliant coverage
  • Intends to eliminate the 400% income cap on tax credit eligibility
  • Plans to lower the limit on the cost of coverage from 9.86% of income to 8.5%
  • Supports public insurance options like Medicare
  • Plans to lower the Medicare-eligible age from 65 to 60
  • Supports the end of “surprise” out-of-network billing
  • Opposes the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
  • Supports promoting price transparency and telehealth
  • Supports the end of “surprise” out-of-network billing
  • Supports passing drug manufacturers’ rebates along to consumers in privately administered Medicare Part D prescription drug plans
Retirement Assistance
  • Favors ‘equalizing’ 401(k) tax benefits
  • Supports flat-tax credits “so that low- and middle-income workers will also get a tax break when they put money away for retirement.”
  • Wants automatic enrollment in 401(k)s
  • Supports the Butch Lewis Act, which establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration to enable pension plans to borrow the money needed to remain solvent while continuing to provide benefits
  • Would expand current Social Security benefits
  • Supports larger tax breaks for retirement savings
  • Would call for legislation to forgive suspended taxes during Sep. 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2010
  • Has suggested replacing payroll taxes with funding from general tax revenues
  • To date, has not provided a position on the Butch Lewis Act
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