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
April 30, 2021, marked President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office, and his administration has wasted little time advancing its policy priorities. At this moment, the administration is focusing most of its attention on...more
DOL Rescinds Independent Contractor Rule. On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a regulation rescinding its independent contractor rule, which was finalized on January 7, 2021, but never went into effect....more
5/10/2021
/ Biometric Information ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Political Campaigns ,
Retirement Plan ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
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
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
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
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
EEOC Clarifies EEO-1 Requirements. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed that it is still waiting for approval by the Office of Management and Budget to collect 2019 EEO-1 data and that the survey is...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
We Juan It! The Washington Nationals are World Series champions, and it is Soto-rific. This is the first World Series championship victory for Washington, D.C., since 1924, when Firpo Marberry and the Washington Senators beat...more
11/4/2019
/ Baseball ,
Capper-Volstead Act ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Eighteenth Amendment ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
Pay Data ,
Processing Fees ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rescission ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
World Series
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
They’re Baaaack. Congress is back in session this week, and my commute once again came to a grinding halt. With roughly three months of scheduled work in D.C. before the end of the year, members in both the U.S. House of...more
9/13/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
EEO-1 on Appeal. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its appeal of the March 4, 2019, district court decision that reinstituted the 2016 EEO-1 wage and hour reporting scheme. The DOJ argued to the...more
8/23/2019
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
NLRA ,
OIRA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SEIU ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
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
DOL Personnel Moves. While we all wait to see how and when the confirmation process for secretary of labor nominee Eugene Scalia may play out, the front office shake-up at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) continued this...more
7/29/2019
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Deductibles ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Pensions ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Board Rules on Union Access. Late last week, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision involving the balancing of employees’ statutory right to organize with employers’ private property rights. In the case, the...more
6/24/2019
/ Access to Employer Facilities ,
Board of Directors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
Final Rules ,
HRA ,
NLRB ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
USCIS
Spring Regulatory Agenda Issued. On May 22, 2019, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released the administration’s Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Before diving into the...more
5/28/2019
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equality Act ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
Students ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
EEO-1 Appeal. Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal in the case that restarted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) 2016 EEO-1 wage reporting scheme. The government appealed both the...more
5/13/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Funding ,
H-2B ,
NLRB ,
Pay Data ,
Unions ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
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
Regular Rate Proposal Issues. On March 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to clarify what forms of payments must be included (or...more
4/1/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
Gerrymandering ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
PBGC ,
SCOTUS ,
Unions ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) ,
Wage and Hour
EEO-1 Developments. Kiosha H. Dickey has the details on some developments regarding litigation over the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) EEO-1 form. Even with the recent decision to lift the stay of the...more
3/25/2019
/ EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
H-1B ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
OMB ,
Pensions ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unions
Paycheck Fairness Act Advances. On February 26, 2019, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor voted, along party lines, to approve the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA). Republican amendments to limit attorneys’ fees and to...more
3/4/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Congressional Committees ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Fairness Act ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence
Ring Recusal Request. On April 16, management attorney John Ring was sworn in as chair and fifth member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). But before Ring even had an opportunity to learn where the coffee and...more
4/23/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Ambush Election Rules ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
DACA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Income Taxes ,
NLRB ,
Recusal ,
State Sovereignty ,
Unions