On April 14, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) from enforcing a certification provision and termination clause...more
On March 24, 2025, the Department of Labor announced the appointment of Catherine Eschbach as Director of OFCCP. Direct Eschbach joins the agency after serving as an appellate lawyer in private practice.
Director Eschbach...more
3/27/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Regulations ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
According to Washington Post and Bloomberg press reports, on February 25, 2025, OFCCP Acting Director Michael Schloss submitted a memorandum to Acting Secretary of Labor, Vincent Micone, outlining OFCCP’s plan to...more
According to the National Office Directory for OFCCP, Michael Schloss has been named as the new Acting Director and Deputy Director of Policy of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”). Michele Hodge, who...more
2/3/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
Following President Trump’s rescission of Executive Order 11246, on January 24, 2025, the Acting Secretary of Labor issued Secretary’s Order 03-2025 (the “Order”), which orders all Department of Labor employees, including...more
1/28/2025
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued a broad executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”), which among other things, rescinds Executive Order (“EO”) 11246....more
1/23/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration
With President Trump’s second administration set to begin on January 20, 2025, federal contractors and subcontractors are anxiously awaiting what he might do with respect to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs...more
1/15/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Religious Exemption ,
Trump Administration
We appear to be on the precipice of another federal government shutdown. Absent a political compromise, the federal government’s funding will run out on December 21, 2024. During previous government shutdowns, government...more
12/20/2024
/ COBRA ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Shutdown ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
On October 30, 2024, the District Court for the Southern District of Texas preliminarily enjoined the Department of Labor (“DOL”), the Secretary of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”), and the...more
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-Being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers,” which is intended to inform employers’ use of...more
On October 28, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published a notice in the Federal Register informing federal contractors that the agency has received two new Freedom of Information Act...more
On September 24, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced the publication of an AI & Inclusive Hiring Framework (the “Framework”). As discussed below, the Framework sets forth ten “Focus Areas” for...more
On June 7, 2024, OFCCP released its latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL). The list identifies 500 supply and service contractors and subcontractors selected for a Compliance Review (Establishment Review),...more
On March 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that its Contractor Portal will open to receive Affirmative Action Program (“AAP”) certification submissions on April 1, 2024. Certifications must be made by...more
On December 22, 2023, a court in the Northern District of California ordered the disclosure of EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors and subcontractors (“Contractors”) between 2016 and 2020 in the case, Center for...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (the “EO”), the first executive order directly addressing artificial...more
11/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Machine Learning ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Reform
As we previously posted, federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold (“Covered Contractors”) have until September 30, 2023 to file their VETS-4212 Reports....more
Federal contractors and subcontractors meeting the VEVRAA eligibility threshold of having 50 or more employees and at least one federal contract totaling $150,000 or more (“Covered Contractors”) must annually file a VETS-4212...more
On January 25, 2022, OSHA filed a notice withdrawing its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). The ETS had mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to...more
1/26/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an Emergency Temporary Standard that will require all employers with...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On July 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) to implement President Biden’s Executive Order (the “Order”) requiring an increase of the minimum wage for certain employees of...more
Quick Hit:
On December 7, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued its final rule enhancing the religious exemption for federal government contractors already contained...more
Quick Hit:
On October 29, 2020, civil rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s recent Executive Order on “Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping” (the “Order”). The Complaint alleges that the Order...more
11/3/2020
/ Bias ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Due Process ,
Employee Training ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Trump Administration
As we have previously reported, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) continues to update its COVID-19 guidance. Most recently, on July 20, 2020, the DOL issued additional Q and A guidance related to COVID-19 and the...more
7/27/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Hazard Pay ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Sick Employees ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
On April 10, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released corrections to the regulations implementing the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”)...more