The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
3/18/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-2B ,
Joint Employers ,
Judges ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pay Data ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Schedules
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business. ...more
3/4/2024
/ Construction Industry ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings
POTUS Issues Executive Order on AI Framework.
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued the “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” (EO). According to its...more
11/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Child Labor ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Workplace Safety
Congress Returns, Eyes Finish Line. The U.S. Senate reconvened this week following its August recess. Meanwhile, members of the U.S. House of Representatives continued to hit the snooze alarm, as they will return to their...more
9/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Confirmation Proceedings ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
NLRB ,
OMB ,
Pay Data ,
Portal ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
White Papers
SCOTUS Recap. Because the Buzz was away briefly, we want to make sure that our readers have seen the thoughtful insights prepared by our colleagues on the impacts to employers stemming from the Supreme Court of the United...more
7/10/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
College Admissions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
NLRA ,
OIRA ,
Pay Data ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Silica ,
Title VII
POTUS Nominates Su to Lead DOL. This week, President Biden nominated Julie Su to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (the current secretary, Marty Walsh, is scheduled to leave his position later this...more
3/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Child Labor ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
OFCCP ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Wage and Hour
Biden’s SOTU, Part II. This week, President Biden delivered his second State of the Union (SOTU) address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. (Over the years, the Buzz has been quite candid with our feelings about the...more
DOL Proposes New Independent Contractor Test. On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a notice of proposed rulemaking—“Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the...more
10/17/2022
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
Independent Contractors ,
NDAA ,
Pay Data ,
Railroads ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Report on EEO-1 Data Confirms Flaws Yet Recommends Expansion. On July 28, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine titled...more
8/1/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Heat Exposure ,
Independent Contractors ,
Information Reports ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Safety Standards ,
Wage and Hour
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
Joe Says “No.” Over the last several weeks, the Buzz has discussed congressional efforts to pass both a bipartisan “hard” infrastructure bill (this passed the U.S. Senate and is waiting in the U.S. House of Representatives),...more
9/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Private Property ,
Property Access ,
Relief Measures ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Unions
Historic Federal Legislation on the Move. While the Buzz was out last week, the U.S. Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by a bipartisan vote of 69 to 30. As the Buzz has discussed, the bill provides $1.2...more
8/23/2021
/ AFL-CIO ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
COBRA ,
Congressional Budget Resolution ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Infrastructure ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
Last Week Today -
Here is a quick rundown of some of the labor and employment policy developments we missed last week while at Workplace Strategies in Austin, Texas (be sure to join us next year for the program at the...more
7/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Time Extensions ,
Tipped Employees ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Our previous articles in this spotlight series on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) highlighted the agency’s enforcement and litigation metrics and political composition of the Commission - matters that...more
6/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
LGBTQ ,
Pay Data ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
Administration Debuts Infrastructure Package. Just weeks after enacting the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, the Biden administration this week unveiled the American Jobs Plan - its $2.3 trillion infrastructure...more
4/5/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Baseball ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-3 ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infrastructure ,
Internal Investigations ,
L-1 Visas ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Visas
Impeachment. Take Two. On January 13, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump on one count of “incitement of insurrection” by a vote of 232–197 (10 Republicans voted to impeach and 4...more
1/18/2021
/ AFL-CIO ,
Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Donald Trump ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Impeachment ,
Inauguration Committees ,
Insurrection ,
Pay Data ,
Resignation ,
Secretary of DHS
Senate Returns. The U.S. Senate returned to Washington, D.C., this week for the first time since late March 2020, and held several hearings and votes. In an effort to adhere to social distancing protocols, senators were...more
5/11/2020
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
J-1 Visas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Ombudsman ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SCOTUS
EEOC Clarifies EEO-1 Requirements. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed that it is still waiting for approval by the Office of Management and Budget to collect 2019 EEO-1 data and that the survey is...more
Administration Releases FY2021 Budget. D.C. policy watchers dove headfirst into President Donald Trump’s 2021 budget this week, looking for clues and insights into where the administration may be heading in a variety of...more
Where is Everybody? Perhaps due to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, it’s been a relatively quiet week in the labor and employment arena in Washington, D.C. President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene...more
1/27/2020
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Impeachment ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Trump Administration
DACA at SCOTUS. On November 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in a series of cases challenging President Donald Trump’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...more
Fluctuating Workweek Reg Drops. On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for computing overtime compensation for salaried nonexempt employees whose...more
11/11/2019
/ Comment Period ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Health Care Providers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Hearing ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Students ,
TRICARE ,
Union Elections ,
Wage and Hour
We Juan It! The Washington Nationals are World Series champions, and it is Soto-rific. This is the first World Series championship victory for Washington, D.C., since 1924, when Firpo Marberry and the Washington Senators beat...more
11/4/2019
/ Baseball ,
Capper-Volstead Act ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Eighteenth Amendment ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
Pay Data ,
Processing Fees ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rescission ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
World Series
The autumn leaves are turning, football season is gathering momentum, Congress is reconvening, and at Ogletree Deakins, we are celebrating the first anniversary of Compass and reflecting on all that has changed in the last...more
10/14/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
H-1B ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Elections ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Supreme Return. The Supreme Court of the United States kicked off its 2019 term this week with a few blockbuster oral arguments. On October 9, 2019, the Court heard oral argument in three cases concerning whether gender...more
10/14/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Comment Period ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
National Park Service ,
National Parks ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
OSHRC ,
Pay Data ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Union Elections ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour