House Appropriation Committee Approves a Slew of 2021 Spending Bills. Last week, we updated on the House Appropriations Committee’s work on the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill, the Legislative Branch...more
7/20/2020
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Government Lockdown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
A Window Into Democratic Fiscal Priorities: House Reveals FY 2021 Budget Priorities. This week, the House Committee on Appropriation unveiled Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill and the Legislative Branch,...more
7/13/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Opportunities ,
Federal Budget ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Quarantine ,
Travel Restrictions
Happy 4th! While we continue to track policy that matters, we would be remiss if we did not wish all of our readers, and of course the Nation itself, a Happy Independence Day. The tradition of Independence Day celebrations...more
7/8/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Election Procedures Rule ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Travel ,
Unions
Despite Big SCOTUS Win For Dreamers, President Trump Continues to Restrict Immigration Through Executive Action. As we noted here, just last week, SCOTUS issued its opinion in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of...more
6/29/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disparate Impact ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Pending Litigation ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Quarantine ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Trump Administration ,
WARN Act
Legacy of the George Floyd Protests Start to Ripple Into the Workplace.
As the George Floyd protests sweep the nation, a sizable amount of reformative legislation is being introduced into state legislatures. While the...more
6/17/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Courthouses ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OSHA ,
Police Brutality ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Protests ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Media Policy ,
Unemployment ,
Workplace Safety
Non-Essential Retail Begins the Arduous Process of Reopening. As many states and localities are beginning the first phases of reopening, governmental entities across the country are doing their level best to provide as much...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Essential Workers ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Retailers ,
Workplace Safety
An Exercise in Listening: Bipartisan Effort to Revamp the PPP. As we have noted here, here, and here, the PPP is simultaneously the most used and the most contentious provision in the CARES Act. ...more
5/22/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bonuses ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Workers ,
FEMA ,
Good Faith ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Trump Administration
House Phase Four COVID-19 Relief Package Sheds Additional Light on Dem Priorities; Package Expected to Pass House Today on Partisan Basis. On Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi unveiled the details of a $3 trillion COVID-19 relief package...more
5/15/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Testing ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liability ,
Marijuana ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Retailers
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, House speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a 1,815 page, $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that would touch on almost every area of the economy and impose new obligations on employers. Some areas are,...more
5/14/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Essential Workers ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pensions ,
Premium Pay ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay
Seyfarth Synopsis: As reported in Part II of our “Paid Leave and Coronavirus” series, the U. S. House of Representatives (the “House”) passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“HR 6201” or the “Bill”) in the early...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As the country continues to adjust to new realities created by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus disease, also known as COVID-19, the U. S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response...more
3/17/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Congress Approves $8.3 Billion Coronavirus Emergency Funding. The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) is headed for the President’s desk. Among other things, the bill...more
3/16/2020
/ Administrative Appointments ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Coronavirus and Sick Day Legislation. Hard on the heels of the President’s address yesterday, and the WHO declaration that the Coronavirus is now an international pandemic, there is obviously too much to report that could be...more
Congress Approves $8.3 Billion Coronavirus Emergency Funding. The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) is headed for the President’s desk. ...more
NLRB Issues Final Joint Employer Rule. On February 26, the NLRB published its final rule governing joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. ...more
3/3/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Apprenticeships ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchises ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In the wake of the impeachment proceedings, the State of the Union, the Administration’s budget proposal, and the initial rounds of the battle to see who gets the Democratic Presidential nomination, it’s been pretty quiet on...more
2/21/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Impeachment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
All the President’s Budget. As you know, the Trump Administration’s FY2021 budget was submitted to the Congress last week. While effectively only a blueprint for future negotiations with Congress--particularly since it is the...more
2/21/2020
/ Caseloads ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
CW-1 ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Budget ,
H-1B ,
H-2A ,
H-2B ,
Immigration Reform ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Training ,
Trump Administration
PRO Act to Hit the Floor. The “Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019” (H.R. 2474) is headed to the House Floor next week. Amendments must be filed with the Rules Committee on Monday. As you know, the bill constitutes...more
2/7/2020
/ Cannabis Products ,
Credit Reports ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employee Rights ,
Gig Economy ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recreational Use ,
Unions
With the eyes of Capitol Hill squarely focused on the Senate impeachment proceedings, we turn this week’s edition of Policy Matters to the states, where labor and employment-related legislative and regulatory activity...more
1/28/2020
/ Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Severance Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Happy 2020! Welcome to the first edition of Policy Matters in this Presidential election year! Understandably, most of the Capitol’s attention has been focused on impeachment proceedings (or the lack thereof) and the conflict...more
1/20/2020
/ Back Wages ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Elder Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Another Future of Work Hearing Scheduled. The House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee has announced a hearing titled “The Future of Work: Ensuring Workers Are Competitive in a Rapidly Changing Economy.”...more
12/13/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Farm Workers ,
Food Service Workers ,
H-2A ,
Immigration Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
WHD Rulemakings Full Speed Ahead. This is a busy time for the Wage & Hour Division’s regulatory agenda. Early in the week, the White House approved its final rule updating the regular rate regulations. The updates are...more
12/6/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Gap ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rate of Pay ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Right of First Refusal EO Revoked. Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order revoking Executive Order 13495 issued by President Obama in January 2009. EO 13495 required that successor Federal service contractors...more
11/11/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Bonuses ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
General Motors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Military Service Members ,
National Interest Waiver ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Offensive Language ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salaried Employees ,
Section 7 ,
TRICARE ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Wednesday, February 13, Seyfarth Shaw’s Camille A. Olson testified at a joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on the...more
2/15/2019
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Testimony ,
Wage and Hour