On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Deputy Attorney General issued a memorandum (the “Memo”) announcing a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (the “Initiative”) and instructing the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to pursue False Claims...more
5/22/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Universities ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 14, 2025, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stayed the nationwide preliminary injunction of President Trump’s Executive Orders 14173 and 14151 (DEI EOs). As we previously...more
The Trump administration has taken various measures aimed at cutting government agencies, departments, spending, and contracts. The ripple effects of these actions have already had far-reaching impacts on many federal...more
3/10/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
WARN Act
With the recent Trump administration executive orders and actions targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, corporate DEI programs are under heightened scrutiny like never before. While these actions have not...more
On February 21, 2025, a federal district court in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction, temporarily preventing enforcement of three key provisions of President Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI programs. Specifically,...more
2/24/2025
/ Appeals ,
Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Trump Administration
Amidst the ongoing flurry of executive actions targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs and policies, causing confusion and disruption across the federal government and private sectors, companies are...more
2/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”), rescinding affirmative action under Executive Order 11246 and other...more
2/7/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed a sweeping executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”), rescinding affirmative action and other anti-discrimination...more
1/23/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Deficiency Provisions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Donald Trump ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Rescission ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On January 8, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council withdrew a proposed rule that would have banned federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking or...more
1/10/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NDAA ,
OFPP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
On January 29, 2024, the Biden administration issued a Proposed Rule that would prohibit federal contractors from seeking and considering compensation history when making employment decisions and require contractors to...more
2/1/2024
/ Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Job Ads ,
Lilly Ledbetter ,
Notice Requirements ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Subcontractors
On September 8, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released a list of 1,000 establishments for supply and service federal contractors selected to receive advance audit notices known as Corporate...more
9/12/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audits ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Compensation ,
Contractor Audits ,
Corporate Management ,
CSALs ,
EEO-1 ,
FDIC ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NAICS ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Scheduling Letters ,
TRICARE
In Innovative Technologies, Inc., ASBCA No. 6186, 62185, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA” or the “Board”) held that, despite the federal government’s failure to include or incorporate the McNamara-O’Hara...more
On August 25, 2023, OFCCP announced that it received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its new Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing, significantly expanding the information and data federal...more
8/28/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audits ,
Compensation ,
CSALs ,
EEO ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Pay Transparency ,
Scheduling Letters ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On January 20, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a list of 500 contractor establishments scheduled to receive advance audit notices known as Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters...more
On September 15, 2022, OFCCP announced that it is extending the September 19, 2022 deadline for contractors to object to Type 2 EEO-1 Reports in response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Center for...more
On August 18, 2022, OFCCP issued a revised Directive 2022-01 (the “Revised Directive”) clarifying that contractors will not be required to provide any privileged pay analysis conducted for purposes of compliance with 41...more
On July 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) published a 160-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement Executive Order (EO) 14055, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” seeking...more
7/19/2022
/ Contractors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Service Contract Act ,
Service Contracts ,
Waivers
In the last three weeks alone, OFCCP has issued two significant Directives and a notice of proposed rulemaking, signaling its intent to be far more aggressive and less transparent in compliance evaluations than under the...more
4/6/2022
/ Audits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
CSALs ,
Equity ,
Extraordinary Circumstances Exception ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OFCCP ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII ,
Transparency
On January 27, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona joined the growing list of courts that have preliminarily enjoined Executive Order 14042 (which imposes COVID safety protocols on government...more
On December 7, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia ordered a nationwide injunction of Executive Order 14042 (the EO or EO 14042), temporarily suspending the EO’s vaccination, masking, and social...more
12/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On December 2, 2021, OFCCP announced that it was launching its Affirmative Action Program Verification Initiative (the AAP VI), requiring all federal supply and service contractors and subcontractors to certify annually...more
Since our October 14, 2021 webinar, much has developed in the rapidly evolving compliance world of Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (“EO” or “EO 14042”). In case you...more
11/12/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
COFC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
GWACs ,
HUD ,
NASA ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Prime Contractor ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Service Contract Act ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Less than three days after the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) released its November 4, 2021, emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 vaccines and testing (the “ETS”), on November 6, 2021, the U.S....more
On November 1, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) added new FAQs to its guidance on Executive Order 14042 (“EO 14042”), signaling that contractors have some flexibility to go beyond the...more
11/5/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Immunization Records ,
OSHA ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
On September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) on President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 (the “Order”). Although the Guidance recognizes that the Order is...more
9/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Joe Biden ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Service Contract Act ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations