House Builds Back Better. After months of starts, restarts, delays, and negotiations, the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed the Build Back Better Act on November 19, 2021, by a vote of 220–213. The bill would...more
Infrastructure Bill Passes - Now What? Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are out this week. But before they left for home, on November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure...more
11/12/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Public Comment ,
Religious Exemption ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
OSHA Issues Vaccine ETS -
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on November 5, 2021. The ETS, which is effective...more
11/8/2021
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Suppliers ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Vaccinations ,
Videoconference ,
Virus Testing
Second Time Is the Charm? On October 28, 2021, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released text of their revamped and slimmed-down Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) (though at nearly 1,700 pages, “slimmed down” is...more
Congress: Lather. Rinse. Repeat. After scuttling plans last month to vote on both a $1.2 trillion bipartisan “hard infrastructure” bill that the U.S. Senate approved, 69–30, on August 10, 2021, and a proposed $3.5 trillion...more
10/25/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Preemption ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SEIU ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
Congressional Update: Debt Limit Crisis and Reconciliation Plans.
Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives were officially out this week, but the U.S. Congress still made some news....more
10/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fiduciary ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Influenza ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Nancy Pelosi ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Raids ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Crisis Averted. For Now. Another week, another major crisis in the U.S. Congress (and the country, for that matter). Last week, it was funding for the federal government. ...more
Congressional Drama. -
There was drama this week on Capitol Hill, as Congress juggled four major issues: funding for the federal government, a bipartisan bill to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, a $3.5 “human...more
10/4/2021
/ College Athletes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Tax Credits ,
Temporary Regulations ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Congressional Update, Part I: Budget Brinksmanship.
This time next week, we could be in the middle of a government shutdown. Always the masters of brinksmanship, our congressional legislators still do not have a deal to...more
9/27/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Heat Exposure ,
International Travel ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Political Parties ,
Reconciliation ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Hazards
Congressional Update -
Various committees in the U.S. House of Representatives continued to work this week on their respective portions of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” reconciliation bill-proposed...more
9/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Administration to Mandate Vaccines for Federal and Private-Sector Employees. President Joe Biden this week dramatically ramped up his administration’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country....more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Private Sector ,
Public Sector ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Joe Says “No.” Over the last several weeks, the Buzz has discussed congressional efforts to pass both a bipartisan “hard” infrastructure bill (this passed the U.S. Senate and is waiting in the U.S. House of Representatives),...more
9/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Private Property ,
Property Access ,
Relief Measures ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Unions
Democrats Begin Process of Enacting Administration’s Domestic Goals.
It took some good old-fashioned politicking, but earlier this week the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that...more
8/30/2021
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Budget ,
Human Capital ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Charge ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Historic Federal Legislation on the Move. While the Buzz was out last week, the U.S. Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a bipartisan vote of 69 to 30. As the Buzz has discussed, the bill provides $1.2...more
8/23/2021
/ AFL-CIO ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
COBRA ,
Congressional Budget Resolution ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Infrastructure ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
On May 14, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1065, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), bipartisan legislation that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The...more
RIP, Richard Trumka. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka died unexpectedly this week at the age of 72. A former coal miner, Trumka became president of the United Mine Workers of America in 1982....more
8/9/2021
/ AFL-CIO ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Arbitration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Minimum Wage ,
Olympics ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tax Credits ,
Unions
Infrastructure Bill: Game On! After weeks of negotiating, there is finally bipartisan agreement in the U.S. Senate to move forward with a $550 billion bill to fund the repair and construction of physical infrastructure such...more
8/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Vaccinations
Senate Committee Examines PRO Act. On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing entitled “The Right to Organize: Empowering American Workers in a 21st Century...more
7/26/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Kamala Harris ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Dems to Push PRO Act in Massive Legislative Package. Congressional Democrats this week announced that they would unilaterally advance a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” package (providing for paid family and medical...more
7/19/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Employee Benefits ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
PBGC ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Infrastructure Summer. Congress remains out this week but is expected to be very busy for the remainder of July. Democrats will seek to gain traction on two major legislative priorities: an infrastructure deal backed by 11...more
7/12/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NPRM ,
Organized Crime ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Last Week Today -
Here is a quick rundown of some of the labor and employment policy developments we missed last week while at Workplace Strategies in Austin, Texas (be sure to join us next year for the program at the...more
7/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Time Extensions ,
Tipped Employees ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Our previous articles in this spotlight series on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) highlighted the agency’s enforcement and litigation metrics and political composition of the Commission - matters that...more
6/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
Pay Data ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
Juneteenth Is Now a Federal Holiday. This week, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 - the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in...more
6/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
EBSA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Heritage & Culture ,
Holidays ,
New Legislation ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
“A Month of Action on Capitol Hill.” The American Rescue Plan Act was enacted in March 2021, and since then President Joe Biden has been looking for his next major legislative victory. Accordingly, President Biden promised...more
6/14/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Fairness Act ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unions ,
USCIS
Workforce Update. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May 2021 jobs report on June 4, 2021. According to the report, American employers added 559,000 jobs in the previous month....more
6/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
National Interest Waiver ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
US State Departments ,
Visas