FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble reports on the Trump administration’s efforts to expand health and retirement benefits for gig workers and independent contractors.
Sen. Bill Cassidy is touting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and new pro-worker legislation he co-sponsored to help businesses and their employees.
Cassidy, R-La., and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer visited Walls Alligator Farm in Springfield, Louisiana, and spoke with owner Barry Wall about his family’s business and what Wall hopes to see the newly enacted law do for his company.
Founded in 1986 by Allen “Dick” Wall, the four-generation, family-owned farm is a Louisiana institution and a major contributor to an industry that generates more than $235 million in economic value for the state each year, according to an LSU study. The business went from being one of the smallest alligator farms in the state to one of the largest in the world.
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Sen. Bill Cassidy and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer talk in Springfield, La., Aug. 14, 2025. (Lydia Emrich/Senate Republican Conference / Fox News)
Walls Alligator Farm has played a pivotal role in the recovery of the American alligator. Once endangered, the species is now thriving nationwide, with Louisiana home to more than 2 million, the most in the country.
On this day, however, Wall is excited about something else: the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump July 4 after clearing both chambers of Congress.
Speaking about the bill, Wall expressed optimism about what it could mean for his employees.
“This bill, I think it’s really going to help us — our workers. All it’s going to translate into is them bringing more money home,” Wall said.
“Our business is not unlike this country. It’s built on the back of the working-class people. We’re working-class with what we do, and if our guys bring more money home, you know what? No.1, they are happier to come to work, but two, it helps us keep them. We got good guys, and we don’t want them going anywhere,” he added.
Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, midway through a 50-state tour, joined Wall and expressed enthusiasm as well. She’s been promoting Trump administration labor initiatives, and, for her, talking about the “big, beautiful bill” in Louisiana was an easy sell, particularly when it comes to popular tax breaks such as those for tipped wages and overtime pay.
“For people of Louisiana, we’re going to see anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 more a year in a family of four. That matters,” Chavez-DeRemer told FOX Business.
“And I get to deliver that news. I get to double down and say, ‘Now let me help you grow this workforce. Let me help you hire more Americans right here in Louisiana,'” she continued.
Airboats are used in LaPlace, La., to move along parts of the bayou. (Lydia Emrich/Senate Republican Conference / Fox News)
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The secretary explained that these tax breaks are designed to keep more money in the pockets of American workers.
“That’s the goal of the One Big Beautiful Bill. When Congress passed that, that was probably one of the most important pieces of legislation they will ever vote on, and that’s because the direction of the president is to focus again on the American worker and grow this economy,” she said.
One of those voters who supported the legislation in Congress is Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is among the many GOP lawmakers selling President Trump’s bill during the August recess on Capitol Hill.
Cassidy joined the visit and emphasized how the legislation will directly benefit many Louisianans, especially when it comes to tips.
“Believe me, there’s a lot of folks who a significant portion of their income is tips. The One Big Beautiful Bill will give them a break,” Cassidy said.
Fresh off helping pass that bill, Cassidy is championing his pro-worker legislation, the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act, introduced last month with senators Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. The bill seeks to modernize federal labor laws, granting gig workers and independent contractors access to health benefits, paid sick leave and retirement plans, among other provisions.
Cassidy told FOX Business the changes are long overdue.
Sen. Bill Cassiday, R-La., and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer, visited an alligator farm in Springfield, La., Aug. 14, 2025. (Lydia Emrich/Senate Republican Conference / Fox News)
“The laws governing this are 100 years old. Now, think about how things were 100 years ago, and yet we have laws from 100 years ago governing how employees work now,” he said.
“We need to have like modern-day laws, which recognize that people want to be independent contractors. They want to also have those benefits. But if they want to take up and go someplace else, they want those benefits to go with them,” the two-term senator added.
Cassidy pointed out that while many people associate gig work with Uber, Lyft or DoorDash drivers, countless others could benefit from his bill.
“There’s a lot of other folks [such as] truck drivers. If you take a swamp tour, the person doing the swamp tour is probably an independent contractor. When you speak to the folks who own the alligator farm, they have people who are independent contractors,” he said.
“The independent contractor wants the benefits of being an independent contractor. Why don’t we let federal law give them even more benefits for doing that?”
Sen. Bill Cassiday, R-La., and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer visited an alligator farm in Springfield, La., Aug. 14, 2025. (Lydia Emrich/Senate Republican Conference / Fox News)
One of those independent contractors is Jordan Pedeaux, who works at Walls Alligator Farm managing Gator Goods, which specializes in premium alligator leather products.
Pedeaux said making the switch to independent contracting was a leap of faith.
“At my last job, it did provide retirement. It did provide medical insurance … so stepping out was definitely a leap of faith, but ultimately it’s worked out well so far. And as Gator Goods grows and grows and grows, we have that opportunity to jump into other parts of the business,” he acknowledged.
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As for Cassidy’s bill, Pedeaux was quick to welcome the possibility.
“Being able to have both would be ideal, to be able to do my project-based work, work on my own schedule, but also have the benefit of those benefits from the company, be able to provide that to me,” the businessman noted.
FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble contributed to this report
