On June 7, 2022, the D.C. Council approved a bill that limits an employer’s ability to test for cannabis. Under the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act, most D.C. employers may not fire, fail to hire, or take other...more
On March 31, 2022, on Transgender Day of Visibility, the EEOC announced that it will expand the available gender options in the voluntary self-identification questions included on its intake forms. The changes will apply to...more
4/4/2022
/ Complaint Procedures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Required Forms ,
Transgender
On December 7, 2021, Judge R. Stan Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia enjoined the federal government from enforcing Executive Order 14042’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal...more
12/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 18, 2021, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the “COVID Vaccination Leave Emergency Amendment Act of 2021” (the “Act”). The Act applies to nearly all private employers with employees in the District....more
11/23/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Effective January 26, 2022, New York will greatly expand whistleblower protections provided to employees and independent contractors, creating new compliance challenges and avenues of liability for employers....more
On January 27, 2021, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the first state in the country to adopt permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standards. As we noted in a previous article, Virginia adopted an emergency...more
The new Biden administration wasted no time implementing changes at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). On January 20, 2021, the day of President Biden’s inauguration, the administration moved...more
On December 15, 2020, the District of Columbia Council unanimously passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, under which the District of Columbia joins California and a small handful of jurisdictions...more
On October 21, 2020, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) continued to address the highly-controversial diversity and inclusion (D&I) training restrictions in Executive Order 13950....more
10/22/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request For Information ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
To make the platform more user friendly and conveniently accessible, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has revamped the Employment Referral Resource Directory (ERRD). The OFCCP created the ERRD as a...more
Governor Larry Hogan announced that Maryland will enter Phase 3 of its COVID-19 recovery plan effective September 4, 2020. Under Phase 3, all previously closed business may re-open, subject to certain limitations. Movie...more
On August 31, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published its annual update to the minimum wage for federal government contractors. As of January 1, 2021, employees performing services on or in...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) settled a claim of gender pay discrimination against Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., a pharmaceutical company, on August 18, 2020. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance...more
On August 3, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interests of American Workers,” signaling that the administration may seek to limit the ability...more
On July 15, 2020, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Health and Safety Codes Board (“Board”) voted 9-2 to adopt emergency temporary standards designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. As...more
To increase its efficiency in ensuring the regulatory compliance of supply and services contractors, the OFCCP implemented Early Resolution Procedures (ERP) in 2018. The ERP allows contractors to proactively correct...more
Is Virginia the new California? That may be an exaggeration, but in April 2020 the Commonwealth took major steps away from its historically pro-employer climate to provide employees and independent contractors with new...more
On April 11, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Values Act (“Act”), which significantly strengthens the Virginia Human Rights Act’s prohibition on employment discrimination....more