After Lengthy Confirmation Fight, Brace For Intrusive EEOC Action. On July 13, the Senate finally confirmed attorney Kaplana Kotagal — whom we have had numerous occasion to discuss in this space — to join the Equal Employment...more
7/27/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Cannabis Products ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Shoe Co v Washington ,
LGBTQ ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
Groundhog Day: Second Proposed Wage and Hour Boss Stuck By Senate HELP. After the Senate voted down a cloture motion to advance the nomination of Dr. David Weil to return as U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”)...more
Labor Agencies Beware: Congressional Oversight To Kick Up In 2023. Shortly after Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) ascension to the speakership, the House of Representatives reinstalled Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) as chair of the Committee...more
Annnnd We're Back: Legislative Update. We appreciate this audience bearing with us as this newsletter has been on a short hiatus in light of some scheduling issues. During that brief respite numerous different pieces of...more
7/19/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFEH ,
EEO-1 ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Heat Exposure ,
Independent Contractors ,
Innovation ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Vaccinations ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana ,
Wage and Hour ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
West Virginia v EPA ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
RISE and SHINE Act. It is just a discussion draft, so need to get too excited at the prospect of more bi-partisanship (maybe this author is alone in his excitement over that potential), but recently, Chair Patty Murray and...more
What SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer’s Retirement Portends For The LE World. The biggest news to come out of Washington D.C. in recent weeks is unquestionably the formal announcement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen...more
A New Year Brings New Hope, And A Little Vaccine Clarity. Below is a brief discussion of where the various vaccine mandates stand in the courts. But this space is intended to provide a broader update on all of the various...more
On Friday, November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit extended its initial stay regarding OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The Fifth Circuit made clear how...more
OSHA: From The Back Page To The Headlines. If asked in January of 2020 what exactly OSHA is and what it does within the Department of Labor, we would venture that the majority of PMN readers would not have a completely...more
President Biden Calls On Congress To Eliminate Subminimum Pay For Disabled Workers. The White House has called on Congress to eliminate a program under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows employers to...more
A lot of relevant policy matters have happened over the past two weeks. We have seen significant progress on the dual-track infrastructure plan; this year’s legislative session in California came to a close, bringing heftier...more
House Leadership Holds The Line On Dual-Track Infrastructure Bill(s) Strategy. Earlier this week, media concerns abounded that moderate house democrats might throw an immovable wrench in the serious progress with the...more
The Senate, Finally, Takes A Baby Vote On The Bipartisan Infrastructure Proposal. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 67-32 to advance the proposal, with 17 Republicans joining all Democrats to begin legislative action. The vote...more
A Summer of Freedom: Happy 4th From Us Here At The PMN. While the White House has acknowledged that the nation will not meet President Biden’s ambitious July 4th vaccination goal, it would be hard to argue the nation as a...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
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
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
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
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature has passed a series of employment-related bills for Governor Newsom to consider. He has until September 30 to approve or veto these bills, most of which relate to leaves of...more
9/4/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
Domestic Violence ,
EEO-1 ,
Entertainment Industry ,
FEHA ,
Gender Neutral ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Military Service Members ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Penal Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Veterans ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
SCOTUS Drops Decisions of Import to Employers. As you may have heard, last week, the Supreme Court of the United States announced decisions in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of Univ. of Cal., and Bostock v....more
6/24/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
ENDA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
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
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
Administration Issues Meat-Packing Executive Order Falling Short of Original Plan. On April 28, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Executive Order on Delegating Authority under the DPA with Respect to Food...more
5/4/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Farm Animals ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Supply ,
Health Insurance ,
Layoffs ,
OSHA ,
Poultry ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety