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
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
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 The action rescinded Executive Order 11246, upending the...more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)
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final independent contractor rule on January 10, 2024. The final rule revises the Trump administration’s interpretation of “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)...more
1/17/2024
/ ABC Test ,
Classification ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) on October 13, 2022, that proposes guidance on determining employee or independent contractor classification under the Fair...more
Federal contractors should remain vigilant in how they structure and conduct internal pay equity audits to ensure compliance with newly revised federal guidance. On August 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office...more
Federal contractors who conduct pay equity audits under attorney-client and work product privileges face increased risks under a new directive by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently reminded federal contractors that the government has broad authority to audit and investigate contractors’ equal employment...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has taken three recent notable actions. Specifically, OFCCP (1) will require a contractor to submit a verification of an affirmative action...more
9/9/2021
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Contractor Audits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OMB ,
Subcontractors ,
Workers’ Compensation
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced in May 2021 that it was withdrawing the rule called “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” As anticipated, the Biden administration rescinded this Trump-era...more
5/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Revocation ,
Trump Administration
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, SB19-085 (the Equal Pay Act), went into effect on January 1, 2021. Colorado’s new law follows a string of laws in other states seeking to expand the protections related to equal pay,...more
3/12/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
First Amendment ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Transparency ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated final rule codifying its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule comes in...more
The gender equity movement focused higher education institutions on pay equality. For example, in 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the University of Denver alleging gender discrimination in...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will see significant changes under a Biden administration. However, the nature and the degree of those changes will depend heavily on how Biden fills senior roles not only at DOL but also in...more
11/13/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
OLMS ,
OSHA ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on September 22, 2020, seeking to codify the independent contractor/employee worker classifications into the Fair Labor Standards Act’s...more
9/28/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour