On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that the prohibition against discrimination “on the basis of sex” under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) once again includes...more
Is That Infrastructure? Biden Plans To Retrofit Not Just Roads And Bridges. Astute readers of this newsletter have almost assuredly heard the phrase “that’s infrastructure” mentioned by Biden administration officials as they...more
Ruling From Parliamentarian Gives Democrats an Extra Shot at Reconciliation. At the onset of the Biden Presidency, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sat for an interview with NBC News in which he telegraphed a so-called...more
Education and Labor Subcommittee Hearing on Important Employment Legislation. As we noted here, on Thursday, March 18th the Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled...more
What Timing: Biden Signed $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package. We here at the PMN have been following intently every development when it comes to the federal government’s legislative response to the virus. Indeed, since...more
3/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Eviction ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Moratorium ,
OSHA ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Vaccinations
The Parliamentarian Has Spoken: Minimum Wage Can’t Be Raised Through Reconciliation. At this point, readers of this newsletter are assuredly aware of the substantive contours and the procedural hurdles Joe Biden’s COVID-19...more
The Fight For $1.9: Administration Remains Committed To Passing COVID-19 Legislation, Even Without Republican Backing. Unlike previous updates on the “will they won’t they” back-and-forth of COVID-19 / Stimulus Legislation...more
This Space – For Now – Will Continue To Summarize Congress’ COVID-19 Stimulus Attempts. To that end, before he was sworn in by the Chief Justice, President Biden released the contours of a $1.9 Trillion legislative package...more
Before we dive into this week's stimulus-focused update, we here at the PMN are excited to announce the new Policy Matters Podcast. Policy issues often have long term widespread and pervasive impact on businesses. Not only...more
Oh Happy Day! Stimulus Is Finally (Almost) Live. The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on a $900 billion pandemic relief package along with a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through September 30, 2021. ...more
12/22/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FRCP 30(b)(6) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Relief Measures ,
Vaccinations
The NLRB Will Look, And Act, Much Differently Under A Biden Administration. Joe Biden has reiterated, again and again, that supporting organized labor will sit atop his agenda. The board is currently operating with a vacant...more
12/8/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Safety
Stimulus, Vaccines, and Corona. OH MY!
First, The Stimulus. The status of additional stimulus remains where it has been as we have been tracking it for months, ever since the House passed the HEROES Act: nowhere. While the...more
11/23/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infections ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Lyft ,
Moderna Inc. ,
Pfizer ,
Public Charge ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Vaccinations
This special post-election report is brought to you by Seyfarth's Policy Matters Newsletter. With so much at stake, we have collected the top-of-mind issues to watch as the election results take shape. ...more
11/6/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Donald Trump ,
Federal Employment Agencies ,
General Elections ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Joe Biden ,
Members of Congress ,
Policy Drafting ,
Political Campaigns ,
Popular ,
Presidential Elections ,
Vaccinations
The Saga Of The Stimulus Deal Continues. As readers of this newsletter are well aware, the negotiations over additional stimulus legislation to confront COVID-19, and all of its attendant consequences, has seen a number of...more
10/23/2020
/ Bias ,
Border Security ,
Canada ,
CARES Act ,
Conciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Stimulus ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Request For Information ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Trump Administration
A Tribute To The Late, Incomparably Great, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Exactly two weeks to the day, the Country began collective mourning over the loss of one of the greatest jurisprudential minds in a century. Justice...more
10/5/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dukes v Wal-Mart ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Newsom ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Leave ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vance v. Ball State University ,
Visas ,
Women in the Law
Seyfarth Synopsis: Consistent with Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published recommendations for...more
10/1/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health Care Providers ,
OCR ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title IX
Despite A Series Of Disappointments, Stimulus Negotiations Remain In The News. As readers of the newsletter are well aware, this specific topic has consumed an inordinate amount of white space. ...more
9/22/2020
/ Black Lives Matter ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Relief Measures ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Deferral ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits
Additional Stimulus Negotiations — Along With A Long-Awaited Federal Liability Shield — Are Going Nowhere, Fast. The negotiations for a new stimulus before August failed. The stakeholders promised a negotiated stimulus...more
9/8/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Eviction ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
23 State AGs Coordinate to Sweep Shaky Legal Footing of Immigration Executive Orders. As we at the PMN summarized here, and as Seyfarth explored here, on April 23, President Trump issued an Executive Proclamation banning...more
8/21/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity Lottery ,
Eviction ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Moratorium ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Deferral ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas
The trend of recent months to curtail employment-based immigration, purportedly prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, continues unabated. On August 3, 2020 President Trump issued yet another executive order, this one...more
8/7/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Memorandum of Agreement ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
CARES Act -
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act (P.L. 116-136) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides over $2 trillion of...more
Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”), health programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, or...more
For decades, courts and practitioners have struggled with whether federal law protects employees against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yesterday, in a landmark 6-3 decision authored by...more
6/16/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
As health care institutions move into the uncharted territory of testing and treating patients in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, they are facing mounting opposing pressures for information transparency and remote...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Director of HIPAA enforcement agency cautions that many covered entities are not meeting the basic HIPAA requirements and sees “low-hanging fruit” for enforcement activity....more