Economic Stimulus Negotiations End. Again. With the current acrimony between Republicans and Democrats at a significant low point, the Buzz did not exactly go out on a limb last week in predicting that there would not be a...more
10/9/2020
/ Conciliation ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
H-1B ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
USCIS
“Skinny” Coronavirus Package Blocked. Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week following an August recess, but didn’t do much to move the ball forward on pressing issues such as coronavirus relief, postal service aid,...more
9/14/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEMA ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Title VII ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
USCIS
Administration Limits Nonimmigrant Visas. On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak. The proclamation...more
6/29/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-Visas ,
Liquidated Damages ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
COVID-19 Update. Set forth below is a quick roundup of policy developments and implications concerning the COVID-19 virus.
...more
3/17/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
AFL-CIO ,
Apprenticeships ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
H-1B ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
State of Emergency ,
Title VII
Congress and the Coronavirus. In the wake of the growing coronavirus threat, federal lawmakers responded this week by doing what they do best: holding hearings. The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and...more
3/9/2020
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Databases ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
H-1B ,
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
USCIS
Go PRO. As the Buzz has been predicting for quite a while, on February 6, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act). Last May, we covered the drastic changes the...more
2/10/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
OFCCP ,
Pending Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Registration Requirement ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
2020 Preview. -=
Federal lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., this week to kick off the second session of the 116th Congress. With national political elections 10 months away, the policy debates will be amplified, and...more
1/13/2020
/ Audits ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Committees ,
DACA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
LGBTQ ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Union Representatives ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Wage and Hour
With the start of a new year, in-house counsel and human resources professionals will want to be aware of what’s on the horizon for 2020 and beyond. It’s a good time for employers to take a breath and consider what issues...more
1/3/2020
/ ADEA ,
Baby Boomers ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
FEHA ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Food Service Workers ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Apps ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pending Legislation ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Right of First Refusal ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
USCIS ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Violence
USMCA on the Way? Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle claimed victory this week over what appears to be a breakthrough in negotiations over the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement. Of...more
12/13/2019
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
NDAA ,
Over-Time ,
Parental Leave ,
Perks ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Tip Credit ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
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
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
Scalia Officially Nominated.
Although the Buzz mentioned the nomination of Eugene Scalia to be secretary of labor seven weeks ago, the management-side attorney wasn’t officially nominated until August 27, 2019. Will this...more
9/9/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Holidays ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
USCIS
Final Overtime Rule Advances. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s proposal to increase the salary threshold regarding overtime pay to slightly more than $35,000 per year took another step forward in the...more
8/19/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
H-1B ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Political Candidates ,
Religious Exemption ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wage and Hour
NLRB Proposes Election Changes. On August 9, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes three specific amendments to its election procedures....more
8/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Article II ,
Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
H-1B ,
Insolvency ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Opinion Letter ,
PBGC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Spring Regulatory Agenda Issued. On May 22, 2019, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released the administration’s Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Before diving into the...more
5/28/2019
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equality Act ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
Students ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
EEO-1 Update. Like an army of frozen zombies descending on the North, the EEO-1 wage collection matter will not die, and its arrival is becoming more imminent with each passing day. On April 16, 2019, the U.S. District Court...more
4/22/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Section 7 ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
NLRB Returns to Traditional Independent Contractor Standard -
On January 25, 2019, in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) returned to its traditional independent contractor standard based on the...more
4/15/2019
/ EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
EEO-1 Developments. Kiosha H. Dickey has the details on some developments regarding litigation over the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) EEO-1 form. Even with the recent decision to lift the stay of the...more
3/25/2019
/ EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
H-1B ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
OMB ,
Pensions ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unions
New Shimmer’s a Floor Wax and a Dessert Topping! The Buzz couldn’t help but think of this memorable Saturday Night Live bit this week upon the release of the administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget proposal on March 11,...more
The Presidents’ Day holiday (more on this below), a snow day for the federal government, and Congress being out of town resulted in a slow week on the labor and employment policy front. Nonetheless, here are a few things that...more
Shutdown Fallout. Shortly after last week’s Buzz was issued, President Trump signed legislation to reopen the federal government after 35 days of a partial government shutdown. The short-term deal restores partial government...more
“Snurlough.” Today is day 28 of the partial government shutdown. A bigger-than-expected snowstorm that hit the D.C. region this past weekend led to a Monday in which the federal government was both closed and (partially) shut...more
1/21/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
NLRB ,
OIRA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Comment ,
SCOTUS ,
State of the Union ,
Unpaid Wages
2019 Ushers in the 116th Congress. Happy 2019 from Washington, D.C., where January 3 marked the start of the 116th Congress (now under new management). As the Buzz has discussed in recent weeks, Representative Bobby Scott...more
Shutdown Shelved (For Now). In a rare demonstration of unity, Congress punted on this week’s government funding debate out of respect for the funeral of President George H.W. Bush (more on the former president’s legacy...more
Welcome to the inaugural issue of our new quarterly newsletter, Ogletree Deakins Compass. We hope you enjoy the publication, which contains some of the familiar features of the Employment Law Authority, but also has a few new...more
10/4/2018
/ Association Health Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Judges ,
Marijuana ,
Multinationals ,
New Legislation ,
Nominations ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
USCIS ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) ,
Wage and Hour