The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 "obsolete" workplace regulations adopted under previous presidential administrations. The wide-ranging rollbacks range from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances to working conditions at constructions sites and in mines. The Labor Department says the goal is to deliver on President Donald Trump's commitment to restore American prosperity through deregulation. Critics say the proposals would put workers at greater risk of harm, with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact.

Farmers, cattle ranchers and hotel and restaurant managers breathed a sigh of relief last week when President Donald Trump ordered a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job. But the respite didn't last long. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin declared that worksite enforcement "remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability" and that there will be "no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals" or undermine enforcement efforts. The flip-flop has baffled businesses trying to figure out the government's actual policy.