The United States Supreme Court is poised to decide the future of race-conscious admissions in higher education – and potentially alter the landscape of affirmative action in education across the country. At issue in two...more
1/12/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Oral Argument ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Universities
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on wellness and mental health in the workplace — and one of the many ways employers are building on that momentum is by making their work environment more welcoming to a diverse range of...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Federal officials recently launched a new online portal allowing construction contractors, federal agency contracting officers, and applicants for construction contract federal assistance a secure electronic means to submit...more
A long-awaited decision from a federal appeals court just decided that some – but not all –federal contractors must comply with the federal contractor vaccine mandate in some — but not all — specific circumstances. Most...more
When government officials released new guidance last week explaining how they will evaluate federal contractors’ compliance with new compensation analysis obligations, they calmed the nerves of the contractor community by...more
The federal agency that oversees federal contractor affirmative action programs recently took several big steps towards streamlining employer audits – and that means it’s time for you to make sure you have your ducks in a row...more
Beware the Ides of March, as they say. On March 15, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released Directive 2022-01, which, according to the agency, aims to clarify OFCCP’s perceived authority to...more
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
2/17/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Indictments ,
Infrastructure ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturers ,
Minors ,
Misclassification ,
No-Poaching ,
Remote Working ,
Sustainability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a Final Rule raising the minimum wage for some federal contractors to $15 per hour – and it takes effect on January 30. The Final Rule – formally known as “Increasing the...more
Federal officials just announced that supply and service federal contractors and subcontractors who meet the designated jurisdiction thresholds for creation and maintenance of Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs) will soon need to...more
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster just signed the “South Carolina COVID-19 Liability Immunity Act” into effect, providing legal immunity to businesses that reasonably adhered to public health guidance applicable at the...more
President Biden signed an Executive Order Tuesday that will increase the minimum wage for federal contractor employees to $15 per hour beginning in 2022 – providing a big boost in wages for many workers across the country and...more
Given the tumultuous news that occupied all of our attentions last week, you may have missed the announcement that President-elect Biden has nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be the next Secretary of Labor – the first...more
1/11/2021
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Pay ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
A federal judge just issued a preliminary injunction to stop government enforcement of a controversial presidential executive order that severely curtailed the ability of federal contractors to offer diversity training on...more
What Happened? The Department of Labor just issued a new proposed rule that would make it easier for workers to be classified as independent contractors.
What Does It Mean? The proposed test – which would take effect...more
In keeping with the promise to make the agency more transparent, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs just released a list of over 2,000 federal contractors that will be soon subject to compliance reviews. By...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
The U.S. Department of Labor just released a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) to provide employers with guidance regarding their wage and hour obligations to track the hours of employees working remotely or teleworking....more
In recent years, gamification has risen up the leaderboards as a corporate learning technique. Companies across the country are embracing gamification in their employee training, recruitment, and engagement. But as an...more
8/7/2020
/ Age Discrimination ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Engagement ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gaming ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Productivity ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Wage and Hour
When the Supreme Court recently concluded that Title VII protects LGBTQ employees from discrimination based on their “sex” in its Bostock v. Clayton County opinion, many schools immediately asked: “What does this mean for...more
7/15/2020
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Just in time for Independence Day, the government agency overseeing affirmative action requirements for federal contractors declared that healthcare providers who participate in TRICARE – the federal health care program...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept over the world, an unlikely phenomenon swept the United States. While new terms like “social distancing” and “essential employees” suddenly became part of the common lexicon, a surprising phrase...more
As more and more businesses plan their re-openings heading into the summer months, many employers are trying to determine how to handle employee requests for leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)...more
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the economy, many employers are making the difficult decision to reduce a portion of their workforce – whether temporarily (via furlough) or permanently (via layoff) – to keep their...more