On March 19, 2025, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued two “technical assistance documents” that address potentially unlawful employment...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (2025 Guidelines) in January. The 2025...more
2/11/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Price-Fixing ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wage and Hour
Amid a flurry of executive orders starting his second administration, President Donald Trump issued an order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”) on January 21, 2025....more
1/27/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On Friday, November 15, 2024, in Texas v U.S. Department of Labor, a federal district court vacated the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) April 2024 final rule that increased the salary thresholds for the executive,...more
On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final rule Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees—commonly referred to as the...more
Corporate policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are being subjected to increased scrutiny and legal challenges even as the US workforce becomes more diverse on nearly every measure—race, sex, gender identity,...more
The United States Supreme Court made headlines recently by ruling that colleges and universities may no longer take race into account when making admissions decisions. At a time when the population is growing ever more...more
7/10/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Protection ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
In the fall of 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042 (EO 14042), which, among other things, directed federal agencies to require federal contractors and subcontractors to mandate that most of their employees be...more
According to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), since 2019, Will Evans, a reporter for the Center for Investigative Reporting, has sought the Employment Information Report (EEO-1) data of federal...more
Last year, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19, the celebration of the end of slavery, a federal holiday. The second Juneteenth National Independence Day is fast approaching....more
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 vaccine-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This halts OSHA’s enforcement of...more
1/20/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Duty Clause ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joe Biden ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
At the direction of the Biden administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule (CMS Rule) on November 5, 2021, requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care...more
11/11/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its highly anticipated draft COVID-19 vaccination emergency temporary standard (Vaccine ETS) yesterday. As anticipated, the rule requires most employers with...more
11/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Register ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Exemption ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Exercising its authority under Section 6(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on June...more
7/16/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hospitals ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
Sanitation ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations
While there is no specific COVID-19 standard that applies to employers and employees not covered by the recent emergency temporary standard (ETS) applicable specifically to employers with employees working in a healthcare...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact businesses around the country, employers face ongoing questions around reopening, workplace safety, and remote work. Our employment attorneys, Christopher Mayer, Kristy Avino, and...more
8/25/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Health and Safety ,
High Risk Covid Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Virus Testing ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
As the COVID-19 pandemic expands, disrupting lives of everyone around the globe, employers should keep a few guiding principles in mind.
•Keep up with and follow the best public health advice available. The Centers for...more
Connecticut’s Public Act 13-176, An Act Concerning Employee Access to Personnel Files, goes into effect on October 1. The new law amends Connecticut’s employee personnel file law and changes employers’ obligations and the...more