“Big Beautiful” Reconciliation Bill Pending Final Passage in the House Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed the reconciliation bill by a narrow vote of 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote....more
7/3/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Job Creation ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Labor Nominees; Announces Committee Votes -
On June 18, 2025, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on four nominees for a number of...more
U.S. Department of Labor Expands Opinion Letter Program -
In an effort to increase official guidance and provide compliance assistance to the regulated community, the U.S. Department of Labor expanded its opinion letter...more
Supreme Court Allows Trump Firing of NLRB Member Wilcox -
Late Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an order that essentially extends a previous order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts in April that barred National Labor...more
5/23/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration
House Workforce Protections Subcommittee Holds Hearing on “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission” -
On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), held a hearing titled “Reclaiming...more
Executive Summary -
It has been a turbulent start to 2025 as U.S. employers scramble to adapt to new executive orders, sweeping changes at federal agencies and a growing patchwork of workplace regulations at the state and...more
5/7/2025
/ Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
U.S. DOL Pauses Enforcement of Biden-era Independent Contractor Rule -
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a press release announcing new guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor...more
5/5/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
President Donald Trump embarked on an aggressive agenda in the first 100 days of his administration, relying largely on executive orders and administrative action that appear designed to test the limit of the executive...more
4/30/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
Chair Cassidy (R-LA) Releases White Paper on Providing Benefits to Independent Workers -
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a white paper...more
On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order instructing that federal agencies cease using the disparate impact theory of liability under federal civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision Allowing Reinstatement of NLRB Member Wilcox -
On April 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox could...more
At a Glance -
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior...more
At a Glance -
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior...more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/24/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
On March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order ending the obligation to pay individuals working on or in connection with certain federal contracts or subcontracts a minimum wage currently set at $17.75 per hour....more
On January 27, 2025, the president removed National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne A. Wilcox, leaving the Board with only two members: Chair Marvin E. Kaplan, a Republican, and Member David M. Prouty, a Democrat. That...more
2/4/2025
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Quorum ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
We are pleased to present the Policy Week in Review (PWR) prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the government relations and public policy arm of Littler. The PWR will set forth in one place WPI’s updates on...more
Following on the heels of the January 27, 2025 dismissal of National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, President Trump fired two of the three Democratic Commissioners on the...more
On January 27, 2025, President Trump terminated Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, and Board Member Gwynne Wilcox. Abruzzo’s termination was widely expected (with some wondering why...more
Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute Rolls Out Executive Order Tracking -
The second Trump administration hit the ground running in its first few days, issuing dozens of executive orders on myriad topics ranging from...more
Among the first actions taken by the incoming administration was to rescind Executive Order (EO) 14055. Titled “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” EO 14055 required certain federal contractors to...more
The 2024 presidential election was like no other in modern history, and it is clear that across a range of measures the American electorate remains dramatically polarized. This presents a host of challenges for policymakers...more
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction banning the enforcement of Executive Order 13950, which seeks to prohibit purported...more
12/24/2020
/ Bias ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Process ,
Employee Training ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Trump Administration
Although the 2020 presidential election is technically behind us, razor-thin and contested elections for the presidency and Congress remain, potentially drawing out the uncertainty through the new year. As of the date of...more
11/9/2020
/ Equal Pay ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On October 21, 2020, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance released a Request for Information (RFI) relating to federal contractor and subcontractor training, and the recently issued Executive Order 13950. That order,...more
10/22/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request For Information ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration