On July 26, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published Directive (DIR) 2024-01, containing a mechanism for conciliating issues found by OFCCP during compliance evaluations through expedited...more
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking feedback on its plan to implement the White House’s newly adopted statistical standards for race and ethnicity data collection for federal agencies in 2027. Federal agencies must implement...more
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States upended the 40-year-old doctrine whereby federal courts gave deference to administrative agencies’ reasonable interpretations of federal statutes. The ruling stands to...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit blocked a contest by a venture capital fund that provided grants and other benefits to black women-owned businesses, finding the contest is likely to unlawfully discriminate...more
6/10/2024
/ Article III ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
First Amendment ,
Grants ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Standing ,
Title VII ,
Venture Capital ,
Women-Owned Businesses
On June 7, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published its Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL), identifying 500 establishments of federal supply and service contractors and...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently released new guidance warning federal contractors they must routinely monitor their use of artificial intelligence (AI) and...more
On March 28, 2024, the White House unveiled revisions to the federal statistical standards for race and ethnicity data collection for federal agencies, adding a new category and requiring a combined race and ethnicity...more
4/1/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Ethnicity ,
Native American Issues ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Employees ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Tribal Employees
Alabama has joined the growing list of states passing laws banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public institutions. On March 20, 2024, Governor Kay Ivey signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 129, a...more
On March 4, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit struck down a part of a politically charged Florida law known as the “Stop WOKE Act” that sought to restrict workplace training on certain diversity,...more
3/15/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Free Speech ,
New Legislation ,
Racial Bias ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title VII
The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review a case alleging that facially race-neutral admissions criteria at a selective Virginia public high school were unlawfully intended to strike a racial balance, leaving...more
2/23/2024
/ Admissions ,
Affirmative Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Legal History ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Public Schools ,
Racial Bias ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College
During recent oral arguments in a case that could shift the balance in employment discrimination cases and impact employer diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives,...more
This article is the first part of Ogletree Deakins’ series, “DEI Under Scrutiny,” which examines the evolving employment law landscape for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States....more
12/1/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Risk Assessment ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
The Supreme Court of the United States’ recent decision to strike down affirmative action admissions policies in higher education is having significant indirect consequences for private employers and their diversity, equity,...more
8/10/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title VII
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down affirmative action in college admissions, leaving employers to wrestle with the implications of the decision for various diversity, equity, and inclusion...more
7/21/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Comment Period ,
Disparate Impact ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Ethnicity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
OMB ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Working Groups
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain race-conscious college admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Universities
On June 5, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) identifying 250 federal and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors....more
As part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) continued focus on the construction industry amid the Biden administration’s infrastructure push, the agency is homing in on...more
5/23/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
CSALs ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OFCCP ,
Public Projects ,
Subcontractors
On May 1, 2023, the Biden administration announced that it will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for federal contractors on May 11, 2023—which is the day that the COVID-19 public health emergency will end....more
In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released 2016–2020 Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report...more
The White House recently launched an effort to revise and update the statistical standards for race and ethnicity data collection across federal agencies with a stated goal of better reflecting the growing diversity of people...more
2/15/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
OMB ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Employees ,
Statistical Analysis
We recently reported on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request covering government contractors’ 2016–2020 Type 2 EEO-1 reports announced in the Federal Register, pursuant to which contractors had until October 19, 2022,...more
On August 22, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced it will launch a new online platform whereby “contracting officers, contractors, and applicants seeking federal assistance for...more
Alabama became the forty-ninth state to adopt equal pay legislation on June 11, 2019, with the enactment of the Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act (CFEPA). The CFEPA, effective September 1, 2019, substantially tracks...more
On March 21, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it would publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), entitled “Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures,” in the...more
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 9, which restricts Alabama employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. SB 9 directs Alabama employers to “exempt vaccination...more
12/7/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Governor Ivey ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Portal ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Departments ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations