Respect for Marriage Act Advances. On July 20, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 267-157 to approve the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404). All Democrats and forty-seven Republicans voted in favor of the...more
7/22/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Nineteenth Amendment ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Railways ,
Sexual Assault
EEOC Updates COVID-19 Guidance. On July 12, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 guidance as it relates to the testing of employees in the workplace. Since the start of the pandemic, the...more
7/18/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appropriation ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Guidance Update ,
NDAA ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
Service Contracts ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Wage and Hour
Biden Administration Releases Regulatory Plans -
Maybe someone in the White House just read the Buzz’s Summer Forecast, because on June 21, 2022, the Biden administration released its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of...more
This week, President Biden released his budget for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins on October 1, 2022. As the Buzz has written many times in the past, because the U.S. Congress has the “power of the purse” and is solely...more
4/4/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Reform
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union Address this week. Though it was easy to miss in the speech, workplace policy observers may have noticed that the president briefly pushed for passage of the Paycheck...more
3/7/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
H-1B ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
L-1 Visas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Minimum Wage ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State of the Union ,
Wage and Hour
Government Avoids Shutdown. Perhaps already missing professional football, the U.S. Congress this week punted on federal government funding. Funding for the government was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on February 18, 2022, but...more
2/22/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Policy Memorandums ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Assault ,
Trucking Industry
In a rare moment of bipartisanship - particularly in the labor and employment policy sphere - the U.S. Congress this week passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The bill...more
2/14/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Logistics ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trucking Industry ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
PLAs on the Way? President Joe Biden signed an executive order today requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) for all federal construction projects costing more than $35 million. Although the text of the order is not...more
2/7/2022
/ America Competes Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Construction Project ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Public Projects ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
SCOTUS Halts OSHA’s Vax-or-Test ETS (but Greenlights CMS Rule). On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States stayed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Mandates ,
Filibuster ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Reimbursements ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Voting Rights
With 2022 underway, set forth below are the major labor and employment policy issues that the Buzz is keeping an eye on as we begin a new (midterm election) year.
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements. Today the Supreme Court of...more
1/10/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Commuting ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
SCOTUS ,
Severe Weather ,
Union Organizers ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Build Back Better...in 2022? Over the last several weeks, the Buzz has been monitoring congressional Democrats’ efforts to pass the Build Back Better Act, a $1.7 trillion social-spending package containing, among other...more
Federal Contractor Vax Requirement Blocked.
On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia preliminarily enjoined President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14042 (requiring...more
12/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations
Infrastructure Bill Passes - Now What? Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are out this week. But before they left for home, on November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure...more
11/12/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Public Comment ,
Religious Exemption ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
OSHA Issues Vaccine ETS -
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on November 5, 2021. The ETS, which is effective...more
11/8/2021
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Suppliers ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Vaccinations ,
Videoconference ,
Virus Testing
Congressional Update: Debt Limit Crisis and Reconciliation Plans.
Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives were officially out this week, but the U.S. Congress still made some news....more
10/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fiduciary ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Influenza ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Nancy Pelosi ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Raids ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Administration to Mandate Vaccines for Federal and Private-Sector Employees. President Joe Biden this week dramatically ramped up his administration’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country....more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Private Sector ,
Public Sector ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Joe Says “No.” Over the last several weeks, the Buzz has discussed congressional efforts to pass both a bipartisan “hard” infrastructure bill (this passed the U.S. Senate and is waiting in the U.S. House of Representatives),...more
9/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Private Property ,
Property Access ,
Relief Measures ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Unions
Democrats Begin Process of Enacting Administration’s Domestic Goals.
It took some good old-fashioned politicking, but earlier this week the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that...more
8/30/2021
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Budget ,
Human Capital ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Charge ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Infrastructure Bill: Game On! After weeks of negotiating, there is finally bipartisan agreement in the U.S. Senate to move forward with a $550 billion bill to fund the repair and construction of physical infrastructure such...more
8/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Vaccinations
Senate Committee Examines PRO Act. On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing entitled “The Right to Organize: Empowering American Workers in a 21st Century...more
7/26/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Kamala Harris ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Infrastructure Summer. Congress remains out this week but is expected to be very busy for the remainder of July. Democrats will seek to gain traction on two major legislative priorities: an infrastructure deal backed by 11...more
7/12/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NPRM ,
Organized Crime ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Last Week Today -
Here is a quick rundown of some of the labor and employment policy developments we missed last week while at Workplace Strategies in Austin, Texas (be sure to join us next year for the program at the...more
7/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Time Extensions ,
Tipped Employees ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Our previous articles in this spotlight series on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) highlighted the agency’s enforcement and litigation metrics and political composition of the Commission - matters that...more
6/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
Pay Data ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
Juneteenth Is Now a Federal Holiday. This week, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 - the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in...more
6/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
EBSA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Heritage & Culture ,
Holidays ,
New Legislation ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
“A Month of Action on Capitol Hill.” The American Rescue Plan Act was enacted in March 2021, and since then President Joe Biden has been looking for his next major legislative victory. Accordingly, President Biden promised...more
6/14/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Fairness Act ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unions ,
USCIS