A little-known but crucial position at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—the director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)—was finally filled on July 9, 2018, by Arthur F. Rosenfeld, an experienced former...more
On May 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released their spring 2018 regulatory agendas. There were a few...more
5/10/2018
/ Apprenticeships ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
On March 23, 2018, the last day before a potential government shutdown, Congress passed and the president is expected to sign a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through fiscal year...more
3/23/2018
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Wage and Hour
On February 12, 2018, the White House released its fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019) budget plan and sent it to Capitol Hill just a week after signing a two-year budget deal lifting the spending caps for 2018 and reopening the...more
August 11, 2017, was the deadline for interested parties to submit comments regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to formally rescind its controversial persuader rule, which was issued in 2016 under the...more
8/16/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
LMRDA ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Persuader Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR . . . OSHA’S YEARLY SUMMER HEAT CAMPAIGN -
On June 26, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the return of its heat illness prevention campaign: Water. Rest. Shade....more
8/4/2017
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Opinion Letter ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Persuader Rules ,
Sick Leave ,
Trade Secrets ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) moved one step closer to undoing President Obama's permanently enjoined “persuader activity” regulation when, on June 12, the agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for reverse...more
6/29/2017
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
LMRDA ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Persuader Rules ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Taft-Hartley Act ,
Unions
On April 27, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Rene Alexander "Alex" Acosta as the nation’s 27th U.S. Secretary of Labor by a bipartisan final vote of 60-38. Eight Democrats and one independent joined...more
It’s not quite time for federal contractors to pop the cork and pour the champagne, but it may be time to get out the flutes and chill a bottle.
The new Congress has taken the first step toward extinguishing the...more
Today, President-elect Donald Trump announced Andrew Franklin (Andy) Puzder, 66, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, as his choice for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.
In 2016, Puzder was a Trump...more
The traditional frenetic pace of activity in Washington, D.C., following a presidential election has begun in earnest as transition teams are formed for each federal agency, resumes for the 1,300 newly vacant positions are...more
On November 16, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) converted its injunction preventing implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s revised persuader rule on a national...more
On June 27, 2016, in National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Perez, et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction,...more
National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Perez, et al.
On June 27, 2016, in National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Perez, et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock Division) granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction,...more
6/28/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Imminent Harm ,
Likelihood of Success ,
LMRDA ,
Persuader Rules ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions
On June 22, 2016, in Labnet, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued the first decision arising out of three separate lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions blocking...more
In accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent public announcement regarding the implementation of its new “persuader activity” rule, all engagements entered into prior to July 1, 2016—including long-term or...more
6/14/2016
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Consultants ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Final Rules ,
First Amendment ,
LMRDA ,
Persuader Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions
At last, we have a little good news for government contractors. By a vote of 34–28 taken late in the evening on April 27, 2016, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) adopted a measure that would block the application of...more
On April 13, 2016, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Form LM-21 Special Enforcement Policy announcement. Effective immediately, the policy is suspending the...more
4/18/2016
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Consultants ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctive Relief ,
LMRDA ,
OLMS ,
Persuader Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
A federal appellate court recently held that an employer did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it discharged an employee who had been sleeping at work and falling short of the employer’s performance...more
4/11/2016
/ ABC Test ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Deferred Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Share Law ,
Friedrichs v CA Teachers Association ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Justice Scalia ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Persuader Rules ,
Poor Job Performance ,
Posting Requirements ,
Public Employees ,
SCOTUS ,
Sick Leave ,
Union Dues ,
Wage and Hour
On March 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations revising the “advice exemption” and requiring employers and consultants (including lawyers) to report labor relations advice and services under...more
3/26/2016
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Consultants ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Final Rules ,
LMRDA ,
NLRB ,
Persuader Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supervisors ,
Trade Associations ,
Unions
One way to assess an administration's public policy priorities is by examining its annual budget submission to Congress: The higher an administration sets its funding requests for particular federal departments, agencies, and...more
On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the $1.1 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, the omnibus spending bill that will fund all federal agencies and government programs through September of 2016— and the...more
Don't look now, but the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest Fall 2015 Semiannual Regulatory Agenda advances the controversial proposed revisions to the "persuader activity" reporting requirements under the Labor-Management...more
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed guidance addressing the controversial Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, which President Obama signed on July 31, 2014 (80 Fed. Reg. 30574 (May 28,...more
We expect 2015 to be a very busy year for actions on new or proposed federal regulations in the absence of congressional legislation. That was confirmed on November 21, 2014, when the administration published its “Unified...more