On March 19, 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released joint “technical assistance documents” (a one-page document titled “What To Do if You Experience...more
4/1/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
New Guidance ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On February 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Plaintiffs National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of...more
The Biden-era effort to raise the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors will not, for now, get a final say by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Rather, legal challenges will continue to muddy the issue...more
2/13/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Delegation Doctrine ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On February 3, 2025, the city of Baltimore and three organizations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland opposing the recent Trump administration executive orders (EO) focused on eliminating...more
2/7/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Process ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
First Amendment ,
Government Agencies ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Separation of Powers ,
Trump Administration
As part of its promise to target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices in workplaces, educational settings, and elsewhere, the new administration issued a January 21, 2025, Executive Order entitled...more
1/31/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
As part of its campaign promise to target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices, the new administration issued a January 21, 2025, Executive Order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring...more
1/29/2025
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
Today, the new administration issued an Executive Order (EO) related to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The action rescinded Executive Order 11246, upending the...more
1/23/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
At the same time, the new administration’s anti-DEI posturing has not been clearly mirrored by the courts, with courts handing employers legal victories over their DEI policies and practices in several recent high-profile...more
1/20/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Title VII
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently issued an opinion letter addressing whether daily expense reimbursement payments can be excluded from an employee’s regular rate when calculating overtime...more
The District of Columbia’s minimum wage for all D.C. workers who do not receive tips is $17.50 per hour regardless of employer size. This rate became effective July 1, 2024 and is anticipated to increase on July 1, 2025...more
Voters in Alaska approved Ballot Measure 1, which will boost Alaska’s minimum wage and provide guaranteed sick leave to workers. First, Ballot Measure 1 increases Alaska’s minimum wage to $13.00 per hour, effective July 1,...more
12/6/2024
/ Alaska ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Missouri voters similarly approved a state ballot measure—Proposition A—that will increase the state minimum wage starting in 2025 and provide employees in the state with paid sick and safe leave. On January 1, 2025,...more
Voters in Nebraska approved a measure that will require all employers to offer employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, effective October 1, 2025. The total amount of sick leave employees may accrue...more
12/5/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Healthcare ,
Labor Reform ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In a significant ruling, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has set aside a Department of Labor (DOL or Department) 2024 Rule, which sought to raise the minimum salary level for exemptions...more
12/3/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Texas ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contracting Compliance Programs (OFCCP) may release federal contractors’ Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Report (aka Standard Form 100) data (EEO-1 Report) in response...more
On election day Massachusetts voters were given the opportunity to vote on the Fair Wage for Tipped Workers Act, a ballot measure, referred to as Question 5, that would have gradually increased pay for tipped workers until it...more
11/19/2024
/ Ballot Measures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
In Mayfield v. United States Dep't of Labor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court's ruling that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has authority to set a minimum salary threshold for the...more
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed whether staff nurses for the City and County of San Francisco (the City) were entitled to time-and-a-half overtime or whether the method of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently determined that the Department of Labor (DOL) violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) in issuing its “Tip Credit” final regulations and vacated the final rule....more
In the case of Ryan LLC v. Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al., Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order with “nationwide effect” on August 20,...more
8/26/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Set-Asides ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking certain wage rules adopted by the Department of Labor (DOL) that had expanded coverage of the Davis-Bacon Act...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Cariene Cadena v. Customer Connexx LLC on July 10, 2024, reversing the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada’s summary judgment ruling in favor of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit released its much-anticipated follow-up decision in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund Management, LLC, on June 3, 2024. The case has been closely watched by...more
The Supreme Court of the United States has overruled Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837 (1984). For 40 years, if an agency was interpreting an “ambiguous” provision of a statute it...more
7/12/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
FCC ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Telecommunications
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released updated guidance for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by federal contractors on April 29, 2024—the latest indication that federal contractors’ use and...more
5/20/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
OFCCP ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements