The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
7/29/2024
/ Equal Pay ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Kamala Harris ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Leave ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
5/13/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Compliance ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
3/18/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-2B ,
Joint Employers ,
Judges ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pay Data ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Schedules
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
3/11/2024
/ Congressional Committees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda
House and Senate Absent From D.C. While Shutdown Looms. The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are out this week, and we are once again on the verge of a (partial) government shutdown. If a deal—likely a fourth...more
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
1/15/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Supreme Court Justices ,
Unions ,
US House of Representatives v Burwell
Here We Go Again: Government Shutdown? In early October, the Buzz theorized that the last-ditch effort to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 hadn’t solved the appropriations problem, but only postponed the debate....more
11/13/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joint Employers ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
Speaker of the House ,
Unpaid Overtime
Fourth Time’s a Charm. After three-plus weeks and three failed nominees, on October 25, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives elected Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the Speaker of the House by a vote of 220–209. Johnson, the...more
10/30/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Speaker of the House ,
U.S. House ,
USCIS
He’s Running. President Joe Biden announced this week that he will run for reelection in 2024. President Biden has stated that he is the most pro-union president in history, so the Buzz will not be surprised if labor and...more
5/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Make-Whole Doctrine ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Unions
Democrats Claim Senate Majority. This week, Senator Raphael Warnock won a runoff election to serve a full term as U.S. senator for Georgia. The victory gave Senate Democrats a true majority (51–49) in the upper chamber for at...more
12/12/2022
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Apprenticeships ,
Comment Period ,
Election Results ,
Joint Employers ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
Pension Funds ,
Political Parties ,
Prevailing Wages ,
U.S. Treasury
The federal contractor vaccine requirement is back in the news. As T. Scott Kelly and Emily Halliday discussed, in late August 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit narrowed the coverage of a previously...more
10/24/2022
/ Audits ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Form I-9 ,
H2-B Visas ,
Joint Employers ,
Mail-In Ballots ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
NLRB ,
PBGC ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations
Congress Is Back. Summer break is over, and like the many children who have recently returned to school, our congressional lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week to kick off a four-week stint before they leave to...more
Congressional Update, Part I: Budget Brinksmanship.
This time next week, we could be in the middle of a government shutdown. Always the masters of brinksmanship, our congressional legislators still do not have a deal to...more
9/27/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Heat Exposure ,
International Travel ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Political Parties ,
Reconciliation ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Hazards
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
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
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
Chilly Climate in D.C. Just like the bit of autumn chill that descended upon Washington, D.C., this week, congressional negotiations over a new pandemic relief package have cooled. A compromise legislative effort announced...more
9/21/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Government Shutdown ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Scheduling Letters
“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
Congress to Debate UI and Liability? For several weeks now, the Buzz has been discussing what might be included in the next federal legislative package to address the ongoing pandemic. Legislative discussions will begin to...more
PPP Fix Enacted. On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act into law, just two days after the bill was approved in the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. As the Buzz discussed...more
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
On February 6, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2474, The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act). The PRO Act would fundamentally alter federal labor law by dramatically tilting the playing field...more
2/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ambush Election Rules ,
Arbitration ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Employee Definition ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
LMRDA ,
Motor Carriers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pending Legislation ,
Persuader Rules ,
Private Right of Action ,
Purple Communications ,
Right to Work ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
Go PRO. As the Buzz has been predicting for quite a while, on February 6, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act). Last May, we covered the drastic changes the...more
2/10/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
OFCCP ,
Pending Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Registration Requirement ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
USMCA? A-OK, Says Senate. The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been in the Limelight in recent weeks, and, on January 16, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved it. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the deal...more
1/20/2020
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
International Treaties ,
Joint Employers ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
OSHRC ,
Pregnancy ,
Retaliation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)