Congress Sprints to the Finish. Congress returned this week from its Thanksgiving break and is racing to the end of the first session of the 116th Congress. Lawmakers are technically only supposed to remain in town through...more
12/9/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Congressional Nominations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exclusionary Clauses ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Joint Employers ,
NDAA ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
OSHRC ,
Search & Seizure ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warrantless Searches ,
Workplace Safety
Fluctuating Workweek Reg Drops. On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for computing overtime compensation for salaried nonexempt employees whose...more
11/11/2019
/ Comment Period ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Health Care Providers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Hearing ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Students ,
TRICARE ,
Union Elections ,
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
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
Supreme Return. The Supreme Court of the United States kicked off its 2019 term this week with a few blockbuster oral arguments. On October 9, 2019, the Court heard oral argument in three cases concerning whether gender...more
10/14/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Comment Period ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
National Park Service ,
National Parks ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
OSHRC ,
Pay Data ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Union Elections ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
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
Final Overtime Rule Advances. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s proposal to increase the salary threshold regarding overtime pay to slightly more than $35,000 per year took another step forward in the...more
8/19/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
H-1B ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Political Candidates ,
Religious Exemption ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wage and Hour
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
This month marks the 55th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This monumental legislation, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, changed the course of history with its sweeping ban...more
7/16/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
New Legislation ,
Quorum ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Service Animals ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
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
Wage and Hour Rulemaking News. June 12, 2019, was the deadline for submission of public comments in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour’s Division’s (WHD) proposed changes to clarify what forms of payment...more
6/17/2019
/ Age Discrimination ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Parker Drilling Management Services Ltd v Newton ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Comment ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
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
Top DOL Official to Depart. This week the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that Chief of Staff Nicholas Geale will resign his position effective May 31, 2019. Geale is a veteran of the D.C. labor policy debates,...more
EEO-1 Update. Like an army of frozen zombies descending on the North, the EEO-1 wage collection matter will not die, and its arrival is becoming more imminent with each passing day. On April 16, 2019, the U.S. District Court...more
4/22/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Section 7 ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
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
NLRB Returns to Traditional Independent Contractor Standard -
On January 25, 2019, in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) returned to its traditional independent contractor standard based on the...more
4/15/2019
/ EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
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
The Presidents’ Day holiday (more on this below), a snow day for the federal government, and Congress being out of town resulted in a slow week on the labor and employment policy front. Nonetheless, here are a few things that...more
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
Did you know that the 2018 midterm elections set a record as the first midterm to exceed voter turnout of 100 million people? In this issue, we will talk about the impact of the 2018 midterms for employers as well as topics...more
1/16/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Change in Control ,
Corporate Management ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
PAID Persists. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program was set to expire this month, but it has been extended for another six months....more
10/12/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Information Reports ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions