Historical Week in the House. The U.S. House of Representatives reconvened this week for its first multi-day workweek since March (the U.S. Senate remained at home this week on a prescheduled Memorial Day week break). The...more
Congressional Update. Despite our elected officials being out of town, there was a lot of action coming out of Congress this week....more
Phase 4 Legislative Response? While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is only one week old, some federal policymakers are already discussing a subsequent “Phase 4” legislative response to dealing...more
COVID-19 Update. Set forth below is a quick roundup of policy developments and implications concerning the COVID-19 virus.
...more
3/17/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
AFL-CIO ,
Apprenticeships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
H-1B ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
State of Emergency ,
Title VII
Administration Releases FY2021 Budget. D.C. policy watchers dove headfirst into President Donald Trump’s 2021 budget this week, looking for clues and insights into where the administration may be heading in a variety of...more
2020 Preview. -=
Federal lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week to kick off the second session of the 116th Congress. With national political elections 10 months away, the policy debates will be amplified, and...more
1/13/2020
/ Audits ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
DACA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
LGBTQ ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Union Representatives ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Wage and Hour
With the start of a new year, in-house counsel and human resources professionals will want to be aware of what’s on the horizon for 2020 and beyond. It’s a good time for employers to take a breath and consider what issues...more
1/3/2020
/ ADEA ,
Baby Boomers ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
FEHA ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Food Service Workers ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Apps ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pending Legislation ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Right of First Refusal ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Violence
Washington Nationals Stay in the Fight. The Washington Nationals are heading to the World Series for the first time ever, and the Buzz is shocked - shocked! - that members of Congress are jumping on the bandwagon and looking...more
10/21/2019
/ Baseball ,
Federal Budget ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Impeachment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multi-Employer Pensions ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Contributions ,
Trade Negotiations ,
U.S. Navy ,
Work Schedules
I Love the Smell of Jet Fumes in the Morning. The smell of jet fumes permeated Washington, D.C., this week as senators scrambled to tie up some loose ends before heading home for the August recess. When Congress returns in...more
8/5/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Music Industry ,
Paid Leave ,
Political Appointments ,
Railroads ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits
Secretary of Labor Resigns. On July 12, 2019, Alexander Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor amid renewed scrutiny of his handling of criminal charges against Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the U.S. attorney for the...more
7/15/2019
/ Administrative Resignation ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Immigration ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Scheduling Letters ,
Title VII
Stanton Confirmed as WHD Administrator. On April 10, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Cheryl Stanton as wage and hour administrator. Stanton, who was originally nominated in September 2017, takes the helm of the U.S....more
4/15/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equality Act ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rate of Pay ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Sexual Harassment ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Wage and Hour
Shutdown Stalemate. Today marks day 21 of the partial federal government shutdown. Assuming that no deal is struck today, by tomorrow the shutdown will be the longest in our nation’s history....more
The midterm elections that took place in November 2018 have the employer community wondering what to expect in 2019. This article will examine how those elections might impact labor and employment policymaking in 2019....more
1/9/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Election Results ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Injury
2019 Ushers in the 116th Congress. Happy 2019 from Washington, D.C., where January 3 marked the start of the 116th Congress (now under new management). As the Buzz has discussed in recent weeks, Representative Bobby Scott...more
Shutdown Shelved (For Now). In a rare demonstration of unity, Congress punted on this week’s government funding debate out of respect for the funeral of President George H.W. Bush (more on the former president’s legacy...more
Congress Sprints to the Finish. Congress is back after its Thanksgiving break, and it will be a busy few weeks before it adjourns (as we previously mentioned, Congress is scheduled to adjourn on December 14, 2018, though that...more
Congress Returns. While New York has an awesome duck, Washington, D.C., has a lame duck. Yes, Congress returned this week for its post-election lame-duck session....more
11/19/2018
/ Ambush Election Rules ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Joint Employers ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
Political Parties ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration
Joint-Employer Update.
As a pre-Halloween treat to stakeholders who are preparing written comments on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed joint-employer rule, on October 30, 2018, the NLRB extended by 30...more
11/5/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitration ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
USCIS
Kavanaugh Hearing. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a new hearing this week to address allegations of sexual assault made against Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. ...more
Kavanaugh Update. The Buzz predicted that the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh would be all-consuming, but even we underestimated how contested his nomination would become. Regardless of the outcome, the political...more
9/24/2018
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Brett Kavanaugh ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIG ,
OSHA ,
Purple Communications ,
Recusal ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings
Agency Overhaul Proposal Announced. On June 21, the Trump administration issued a sweeping proposal to consolidate and streamline federal agencies. Of particular significance to the Buzz is the proposal to combine the...more
Welcome back, and hold onto your reindeer reins - it’s going to be a busy few weeks ahead.
The 12 Days (or so) of Congress. Congress has returned to D.C. after a week-long Thanksgiving break, and the Trump administration...more
House Republicans Release Long-Awaited Tax Package. On Thursday, November 2, House Republicans released the legislative text of their eagerly awaited tax reform bill....more
D.C. is humming this week, as the Senate and House are both in session after taking turns on recess the past two weeks.
401(k) Pre-Tax Deferrals: An Endangered Species? After being overshadowed by ACA repeal-and-replace...more
Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) triumphant return to Congress on Thursday capped another busy week in Washington, D.C.:
Graham-Cassidy Crashes, but Some in GOP Still Looking Down the Road. On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, the...more