I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more
Over the past few years, cities and counties have gotten into the business of regulating the workplace, an area previously reserved to federal and state governments. Many local jurisdictions have focused particular attention...more
7/26/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
California ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Safety
National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo continues to push the Board to take aggressive and unprecedented pro-labor stances, seeking to overturn decades of well-settled...more
4/13/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Rights ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
On April 7, 2022, General Counsel (GC) Jennifer A. Abruzzo released Memorandum 22-04, The Right to Refrain from Captive Audience and other Mandatory Meetings. As set forth in the memorandum, GC Abruzzo will urge the National...more
4/8/2022
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Free Speech ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Section 7 ,
Unions
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas delivered a victory for businesses that utilize independent contractors, and for independent contractors themselves, when it held that the...more
3/16/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Statutory Violations ,
Wage and Hour
On Monday, February 7, 2022, the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment (Task Force) released its long-awaited Report detailing nearly 70 recommendations for revising our nation’s labor laws and...more
Introduction Over a year and a half since the pandemic first started to take its toll on the health and welfare of individuals and the economy, the country is still reeling and struggling to recover. Some employers and...more
9/7/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommuting ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
On July 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it was formally rescinding regulations issued by the prior administration defining “joint employer” status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). ...more
On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule to implement and enforce Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors,” was published in the Federal Register. Executive Order...more
On June 11, 2021, the federal government released its unified federal regulatory agenda for spring 2021, which outlines regulatory and deregulation actions agencies expect to take in the coming months....more
6/17/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On May 26, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden nominated Gwynne Wilcox to fill an open seat on the National Labor Relations Board. Wilcox is currently a senior partner at a labor-side labor and employment firm, and is assistant...more
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor formally withdrew final regulations promulgated earlier this year under the prior administration which set forth, for the first time by way of an Administrative Procedure Act...more
5/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
In September 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden promised organized labor that, if elected, he would be the “strongest labor president you’ve ever had.” In his first 100 days in office, now President Biden has acted quickly and...more
5/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
...more
5/3/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoffs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Right of Recall ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On April 27, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden issued an executive order increasing the minimum wage for workers working on or in connection with a federal government contract. Under the order, federal contractors will be...more
4/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
On March 31, 2021, President Biden unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, the American Jobs Plan (AJP), which comes on the heels of the enactment of last month’s $1.9 trillion COVID-recovery legislation, the American...more
When President Biden took the unprecedented step of firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb shortly after taking the oath of office on January 20, observers noted that it was a significant...more
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act) by a largely party-line vote of 225-206. One Democratic Representative voted against the bill; five...more
3/11/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On February 4, 2021, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Introduction was expected, as President Biden pledged to be “the strongest labor president you have ever had” during...more
2/10/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Work ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court held in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, Inc. that the ABC test for determining worker classification fashioned in its groundbreaking decision, Dynamex v. Superior...more
1/19/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its highly anticipated independent contractor rule. The rule delivers on the DOL’s promise to simplify, clarify and harmonize the factors for determining when...more
Although the 2020 presidential election is technically behind us, razor-thin and contested elections for the presidency and Congress remain, potentially drawing out the uncertainty through the new year. As of the date of...more
11/9/2020
/ Equal Pay ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On Saturday, September 26, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy on the bench occasioned by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
Introduction -
Prior Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) Labor Day Reports focused on key employment developments and trends to provide employers with insight on the state of work and what to expect in the coming year....more
9/8/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Labor Regulations ,
On-Demand Services ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
AB 5, California’s sweeping and landmark independent contractor law, became effective on January 1, 2020. By January 6, bills were already being introduced to amend the law. At one time, more than 30 such bills were...more