“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
Workforce Update. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May 2021 jobs report on June 4, 2021. According to the report, American employers added 559,000 jobs in the previous month....more
6/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
National Interest Waiver ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
US State Departments ,
Visas
EEOC Releases Vaccine Guidance. On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued much-needed guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and the workplace. According to the guidance...more
6/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Military Service Members ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Transparency ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
The Biden Administration at 100 Days. President Joe Biden recently marked his 100th day in office, and labor and employment policy changes have been at the forefront of his administration’s agenda. The enactment of the...more
5/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Masks ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
SCOTUS ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
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
Unemployment Insurance Update. Late last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that the nonfarm economy added only 266,000 jobs in April 2021, well short of the 1...more
5/17/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Pregnancy ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas
Biden Releases American Families Plan -
This week, the White House released an outline of its American Families Plan, which is being touted as the second phase of the administration’s infrastructure proposal (dubbed the...more
5/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Education Budget ,
Employee's Childcare ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
What’d I Miss? -
We do not want to rehash old news, but in the interest of keeping our readers informed, here is a quick rundown of some of the items the Buzz missed last week while on hiatus....more
Infrastructure Plan Scuttlebutt. With Congress not returning to Washington, D.C., until next week, the White House’s American Jobs Plan proposal is still driving much of the political discussion in town this week. Of course,...more
4/12/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Rule ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filibuster ,
Infrastructure ,
Midnight Rules Relief ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Persuader Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
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
On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 - a $1.9 trillion economic relief package. While the legislation marks the first major legislative victory for President Biden and...more
3/15/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Direct Payments to Families and Individuals ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
OSHA ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
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
Congress Sees Its Shadow. It was Groundhog Day this past week, and it sure feels like we have been living the same day over and over again with the way that the parties in Congress can’t agree on an economic stimulus package....more
2/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
H-1B ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Secretary of DHS ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
President Biden. On January 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and security concerns arising out of the riot at the United States Capitol...more
1/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Relief Measures ,
USCIS
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays. For some, holidays with family can be a real grind; for members of Congress, the holidays appear to be a real motivator and catalyst for bipartisanship. Thus, it seems that after...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
Sweet Asteroid of Death. There are 11 days until Election Day, November 3, 2020. For voters who are unhappy with the available options, there may be some good news: an asteroid may crash into Earth on November 2, 2020,...more
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
Congress Set to Work on Subsequent Pandemic Relief. Congress is out on a two-week summer recess and will return the week of July 20, 2020. Upon return, it is expected that Senate Republicans will begin legislative discussions...more
Spring Regulatory Agenda Released. Last week, the Buzz wondered when we might see the administration’s spring regulatory forecast. Well, the administration must have noticed our comment, because on June 30, 2020, it released...more
7/6/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
TRICARE ,
USCIS
SCOTUS: Title VII Protects LGBTQ and Transgender Employees. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States released its historical decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that discrimination against...more
6/19/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Citizenship ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
OSHA ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Rescission ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v NAACP ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wolf v Vidal ,
Work Permits
PPP Flexibility Act Clarification. Buzz readers likely recall that President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act into law last week. One of the prominent features of the legislation lowers from...more
6/15/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Certification Requirements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA
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 Coronavirus Update. On May 20, 2020, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), evoked the proxy voting provision of House Resolution 965. The Speaker’s action will trigger a...more
May the Fourth Be With You? Not so Much. As the Buzz discussed previously, Congress was scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., next week. This week, however, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the U.S....more
5/4/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IRS ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Distancing ,
Unemployment Benefits