Trump-Era Independent Contractor Rule Reinstated. In a decision issued on March 15, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas reinstated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule, “Independent Contractor...more
3/21/2022
/ Caregivers ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
OFCCP ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Congressional Drama. -
There was drama this week on Capitol Hill, as Congress juggled four major issues: funding for the federal government, a bipartisan bill to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, a $3.5 “human...more
10/4/2021
/ College Athletes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Tax Credits ,
Temporary Regulations ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
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
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
In its first 100 days in office, the Biden administration has advanced its policy priorities, many of which have involved repealing the policy accomplishments of the previous presidential administration. The Biden...more
5/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Graduate Students ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Charge ,
Religious Exemption ,
Revocation ,
Student Employees ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Secretary of Labor Confirmed. On March 23, 2021, former Boston mayor Martin Walsh was sworn in as the 29th U.S. Senate-confirmed secretary of labor. Walsh’s nomination had been approved by the Senate just one day earlier on a...more
3/29/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Religious Exemption ,
SBA ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Biden Signs Sixth COVID-19 Aid Package Into Law. President Joe Biden promised the country an enormous economic rescue plan, and he delivered. On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of...more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Filibuster ,
Graduate Students ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Charge ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Title VII ,
Union Elections ,
Workplace Safety
Biz Groups Are a “No” on PRO. As the Buzz mentioned last week, the U.S. House of Representatives is teeing up a vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021 (H.R. 842/S. 420) to occur sometime next week. In...more
3/8/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Inspector General ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Minimum Wage Increase Booted From Stimulus Package. Even before members of the U.S. House of Representatives could vote on their $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate had ruled that the...more
3/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
CARES Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equality Act ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
LGBTQ ,
Minimum Wage ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rescission ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
Status Check on Congress. We are more than one week into the Biden administration and the president has made progress filling out his cabinet. Antony Blinken (U.S. secretary of state), Janet Yellen (U.S. secretary of the...more
2/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
Opinion Letter ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rescission ,
Revocation ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Haven’t We Seen This Movie Before? Following the Thanksgiving break, federal legislators have been back in Washington, D.C., this week as the 116th United States Congress - which will likely end on January 3, 2021 - sprints...more
Election 2020: Patience Required. Voting in the 2020 elections wraps up in just four days, on November 3, 2020. However, due to many tight races and the unprecedented volume of mail-in ballots (and states’ differing rules on...more
10/30/2020
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
General Elections ,
H-1B ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Press Releases ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
“Skinny” Coronavirus Package Blocked. Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week following an August recess, but didn’t do much to move the ball forward on pressing issues such as coronavirus relief, postal service aid,...more
9/14/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEMA ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Title VII ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
USCIS
NLRB Issues Joint-Employer Rule. On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalized its joint-employer rule. The rule returns to a common sense joint-employer standard that existed for decades prior to...more
Where is Everybody? Perhaps due to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, it’s been a relatively quiet week in the labor and employment arena in Washington, D.C. President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene...more
1/27/2020
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Impeachment ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Trump Administration
On January 12, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released the final changes to its joint-employer regulation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Originally proposed in April 2019, the updated...more
USMCA on the Way? Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle claimed victory this week over what appears to be a breakthrough in negotiations over the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement. Of...more
12/13/2019
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
NDAA ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Perks ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Tip Credit ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
The autumn leaves are turning, football season is gathering momentum, Congress is reconvening, and at Ogletree Deakins, we are celebrating the first anniversary of Compass and reflecting on all that has changed in the last...more
10/14/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
H-1B ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Elections ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Meet the New Boss. The U.S. Senate confirmed Eugene Scalia as the new secretary of labor on September 26, 2019. Scalia, who served as solicitor of labor in the George W. Bush administration, is expected to continue apace with...more
9/30/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
NLRB Proposes Election Changes. On August 9, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes three specific amendments to its election procedures....more
8/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Article II ,
Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
H-1B ,
Insolvency ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Opinion Letter ,
PBGC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
IRAPs Arrive. On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “to advance the development of high-quality, industry-recognized...more
Gentlemen, You Can’t Fight in Here! This Is the War Room! On April 3, 2019, for the third time in six years, the U.S. Senate went “nuclear” and changed its rules regarding filibustering of presidential nominees. This time,...more
4/8/2019
/ Association Health Plans ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Decertification ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FOIA ,
Joint Employers ,
Opinion Letter ,
OSHA ,
Railways ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Unions
On April 1, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its existing regulations regarding joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)....more
4/2/2019
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
NLRB ,
NPRM
It was a busy week in Washington, D.C., marked by the resuscitation of two major employment policy debates from 2016. Here is your Beltway Buzz....more
3/11/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Minimum Salary ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OSHRC ,
Over-Time ,
TRICARE ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Shutdown Shame. Today is day 35 of the partial government shutdown, and the political climate in D.C. continues to crater. At least Congress canceled its previously scheduled recess in an attempt to resolve the situation -...more
1/28/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
Silica ,
Wage and Hour