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
On April 17, 2024, in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the Supreme Court of the United States held that an employer may violate Title VII’s anti-discrimination provisions when it transfers an employee even if the transfer did...more
4/24/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued a Proposed Rule, “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting,” on January 30, 2024. The Proposed Rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs), which...more
2/16/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
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
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in two cases challenging universities’ consideration of race as a factor in student admissions: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of...more
7/6/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII ,
Universities
Many employers have begun using artificial intelligence (AI) tools supplied by third-party vendors. On May 18, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided guidance indicating that, in its view, employers...more
6/1/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NIST ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology
Recently, in Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a daily-rate worker who earned over $200,000 annually was not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. In...more
3/3/2023
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc v Hewitt No 21-984 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated systems can increase efficiency and help reduce human error. However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the White House, and the Equal Employment Opportunity...more
2/20/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Bias ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
New Hires ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Strategic Planning
On October 31, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in two landmark cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North...more
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
Employers who share information with competitor employers about employee compensation, including wages and benefits, face greater risks of government investigations into violations of antitrust laws. The U.S. Department of...more
9/21/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Compensation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Settlement ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wage and Hour
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel breathed new life into the federal contractor vaccine mandate. While the panel determined that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate exceeded the president’s legal authority, it...more
9/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Injunctions ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Authority ,
Vaccinations
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
On December 7, 2021, a federal district court in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction blocking the federal contractor vaccine mandate and other protocols. In a 28-page decision, the district court determined that the...more
12/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Injunctions ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
State and Local Government ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring all employers with a total of 100 or more employees to mandate...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding a brand-new section addressing religious objections to COVID-19 vaccine...more
11/2/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Last week, the federal government began enforcing the requirements of the Executive Order 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors” (COVID EO) and its supporting guidance. The COVID EO directs...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
On May 27, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (court) denied Rocky Mountain Association of Recruiters’ (Rocky Mountain) motion for preliminary injunction. Rocky Mountain was seeking to prevent...more
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