POTUS Signs Bill Ending COVID-19 Emergency. On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed a congressional resolution officially ending the COVID-19 national emergency. The resolution was passed out of the U.S. House of...more
4/17/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
USCIS
SCOTUS Rules in OT Case … More Challenges on the Way? On February 22, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 6–3 decision holding that an employee making $200,000 each year is entitled to overtime pay under the...more
2/27/2023
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fees ,
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc v Hewitt No 21-984 ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Severance Agreements ,
USCIS
The Pandemic Is Dead! Long Live the Pandemic! This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to immediately end the COVID-19 national emergency, as well as a bill to end the COVID-19 public health emergency....more
2/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
POTUS Re-ups Labor Nominees. This week, President Biden renominated Jessica Looman to serve as administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division and José Javier Rodriguez to serve as assistant...more
1/30/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
GAO ,
OFCCP ,
PBGC ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Withdrawal Liability
118th Congress Takes Shape. The Buzz certainly didn’t think we’d still be dissecting the results of the 2022 midterms ten days after Election Day, but here we are....more
The federal contractor vaccine requirement is back in the news. As T. Scott Kelly and Emily Halliday discussed, in late August 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit narrowed the coverage of a previously...more
10/24/2022
/ Audits ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Form I-9 ,
H2-B Visas ,
Joint Employers ,
Mail-In Ballots ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
NLRB ,
PBGC ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations
Lawmakers Avoid Shutdown, Extend Government Funding Deadline. The U.S. Congress narrowly averted a federal government shutdown this week, as it approved a stopgap continuing resolution to keep the government funded and...more
10/3/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Apprenticeships ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
FAAP ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud ,
Government Shutdown ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIG ,
Unemployment Benefits
EEOC Updates COVID-19 Guidance. On July 12, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 guidance as it relates to the testing of employees in the workplace. Since the start of the pandemic, the...more
7/18/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appropriation ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Guidance Update ,
NDAA ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
Service Contracts ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Wage and Hour
Contractor Watchdog Releases Audit List. Late last week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released its new Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for federal contractors. According to OFCCP,...more
5/31/2022
/ Audits ,
Congressional Committees ,
Construction Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CSALs ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Heat Exposure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Workplace Violence
NLRB GC Pushes for Card Checks, Limits on Employer Speech. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo filed a brief in a case asking the Board to make dramatic changes to federal labor law. The...more
4/25/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Public Comment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held hearings this week on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Republican senators focused on Judge...more
3/28/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Health Care Providers ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
SCOTUS ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Workplace Safety
Government Avoids Shutdown. Perhaps already missing professional football, the U.S. Congress this week punted on federal government funding. Funding for the government was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on February 18, 2022, but...more
2/22/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Policy Memorandums ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Assault ,
Trucking Industry
SCOTUS Halts OSHA’s Vax-or-Test ETS (but Greenlights CMS Rule). On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States stayed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Mandates ,
Filibuster ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Reimbursements ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Voting Rights
With 2022 underway, set forth below are the major labor and employment policy issues that the Buzz is keeping an eye on as we begin a new (midterm election) year.
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements. Today the Supreme Court of...more
1/10/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Commuting ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
SCOTUS ,
Severe Weather ,
Union Organizers ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Federal Contractor Vax Requirement Blocked.
On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia preliminarily enjoined President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14042 (requiring...more
12/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations
Congress: Always in Crisis Mode. The U.S. Congress returned this week for a three-week sprint to the end of the legislative year. With so much on its plate, it is quite possible that Congress will be working up to and around...more
12/6/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Members of Congress ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Vaccinations
House Builds Back Better. After months of starts, restarts, delays, and negotiations, the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed the Build Back Better Act on November 19, 2021, by a vote of 220–213. The bill would...more
Infrastructure Bill Passes - Now What? Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are out this week. But before they left for home, on November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure...more
11/12/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Public Comment ,
Religious Exemption ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations
OSHA Issues Vaccine ETS -
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on November 5, 2021. The ETS, which is effective...more
11/8/2021
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Suppliers ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Vaccinations ,
Videoconference ,
Virus Testing
Congressional Update: Debt Limit Crisis and Reconciliation Plans.
Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives were officially out this week, but the U.S. Congress still made some news....more
10/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fiduciary ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Influenza ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Nancy Pelosi ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Raids ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Crisis Averted. For Now. Another week, another major crisis in the U.S. Congress (and the country, for that matter). Last week, it was funding for the federal government. ...more
Congressional Drama. -
There was drama this week on Capitol Hill, as Congress juggled four major issues: funding for the federal government, a bipartisan bill to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, a $3.5 “human...more
10/4/2021
/ College Athletes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Tax Credits ,
Temporary Regulations ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Congressional Update, Part I: Budget Brinksmanship.
This time next week, we could be in the middle of a government shutdown. Always the masters of brinksmanship, our congressional legislators still do not have a deal to...more
9/27/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Heat Exposure ,
International Travel ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Political Parties ,
Reconciliation ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Hazards
Congressional Update -
Various committees in the U.S. House of Representatives continued to work this week on their respective portions of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” reconciliation bill-proposed...more
9/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations
Administration to Mandate Vaccines for Federal and Private-Sector Employees. President Joe Biden this week dramatically ramped up his administration’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country....more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Private Sector ,
Public Sector ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour