U.S. DOL Pauses Enforcement of Biden-era Independent Contractor Rule -
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a press release announcing new guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor...more
5/5/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
President Donald Trump embarked on an aggressive agenda in the first 100 days of his administration, relying largely on executive orders and administrative action that appear designed to test the limit of the executive...more
4/30/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
4/18/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
At a Glance -
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior...more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/24/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
On March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order ending the obligation to pay individuals working on or in connection with certain federal contracts or subcontracts a minimum wage currently set at $17.75 per hour....more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/17/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Workweek ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/10/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OCR ,
Title VI ,
Unions
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/3/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Small Business ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
We are pleased to present the Policy Week in Review (PWR) prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the government relations and public policy arm of Littler. The PWR will set forth in one place WPI’s updates on...more
Among the first actions taken by the incoming administration was to rescind Executive Order (EO) 14055. Titled “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” EO 14055 required certain federal contractors to...more
On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated and set aside the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s final regulation increasing the salary threshold for the “white collar” overtime...more
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a limited injunction of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new regulations increasing the minimum salary that certain executive, administrative,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor released a final rule on April 23, 2024, raising the salary threshold to qualify for certain overtime exemptions under federal law. Most importantly, it significantly raises the minimum salary...more
4/24/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule on January 9, 2024, defining “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final regulation rescinds a 2021 rule defining the same term. In place...more
1/9/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations requiring the so-called “nondisplacement” of workers performing work on contracts for the federal government under the Service Contract Act (SCA)....more
On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations requiring the so-called “nondisplacement” of workers performing work on contracts for the federal government under the Service Contract Act (SCA)....more
On August 30, 2023, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the “white collar” overtime exemption regulations applicable to executive,...more
8/31/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule to update the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. FLSA...more
10/12/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
On June 21, 2022, the Biden administration released its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. These semi-annual regulatory agendas outline federal agency goals for the months ahead. Although the...more
6/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On March 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, calling for the most sweeping revisions to the rules governing Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) enforcement since...more
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas delivered a victory for businesses that utilize independent contractors, and for independent contractors themselves, when it held that the...more
3/16/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Statutory Violations ,
Wage and Hour
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted emergency relief to stay implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19. ...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
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 ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden released a sweeping new COVID-19 Action Plan, Path Out of the Pandemic. This Plan includes mandates that employees working for large private employers, the federal government,...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety