On December 21, 2020, Congress passed a massive bill (H.R. 133) that would fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2021 while also providing $900 billion in COVID-19 economic relief for employers and...more
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays. For some, holidays with family can be a real grind; for members of Congress, the holidays appear to be a real motivator and catalyst for bipartisanship. Thus, it seems that after...more
Tick Tock. The clock is ticking and the 116th Congress has three big tasks in its waning days: ensure the federal government does not shut down due to a lack of funding, pass the National Defense Authorization Act, and get an...more
12/14/2020
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Government Shutdown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
Opinion Letter ,
Religious Exemption ,
Waiver of Liability
Haven’t We Seen This Movie Before? Following the Thanksgiving break, federal legislators have been back in Washington, D.C., this week as the 116th United States Congress - which will likely end on January 3, 2021 - sprints...more
The results of the 2020 national elections are (mostly) in. Former vice president Joseph Biden is now President-elect Joseph Biden. Democrats have managed to hold the U.S. House of Representatives, but they will be working...more
Biden Agency Review Teams Announced. President-elect Joe Biden has announced his “agency review teams” to begin evaluating agency operations in anticipation of the shift in executive power in January 2021. The labor review...more
Well, Tuesday was the big day. After much deliberation and soul-searching, the Buzz decided to go with an Italian sub. More seriously, at the time of this writing, it looks like former vice president Joe Biden is heading to...more
11/9/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Review Act ,
DACA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Election Results ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
General Elections ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Elections
Election 2020: Patience Required. Voting in the 2020 elections wraps up in just four days, on November 3, 2020. However, due to many tight races and the unprecedented volume of mail-in ballots (and states’ differing rules on...more
10/30/2020
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
General Elections ,
H-1B ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Press Releases ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
Sweet Asteroid of Death. There are 11 days until Election Day, November 3, 2020. For voters who are unhappy with the available options, there may be some good news: an asteroid may crash into Earth on November 2, 2020,...more
Second Time’s a Charm? Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is promising a vote on a slimmed-down economic stimulus package during the week beginning October 19, 2020. We’ve seen this movie before. Republican...more
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
HEROES Act Passes the House. Again. On October 1, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a (somewhat) slimmed-down version of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act - House...more
RBG. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday, September 18, 2020, at the age of 87. In this humble publication it is impossible to capture Justice Ginsburg’s outsized influence on the law, women’s...more
Chilly Climate in D.C. Just like the bit of autumn chill that descended upon Washington, D.C., this week, congressional negotiations over a new pandemic relief package have cooled. A compromise legislative effort announced...more
9/21/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Government Shutdown ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Scheduling Letters
“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
A September to Remember? Congress will return next week after its August recess to begin a legislative sprint to the November elections. There will be only 15 scheduled legislative days when both the U.S. Senate and U.S....more
DOL Issues Back-to-School Leave Guidance. On August 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) updated its frequently asked questions regarding paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus...more
8/31/2020
/ Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Final Rules ,
Public Schools ,
Remote Working ,
Students ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Congress’s Compromise Clues? There was lots of scuttlebutt in Washington, D.C., this week about a subsequent stimulus package, but nothing to show for it. Senate Republicans are reportedly poised to introduce a new...more
8/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
GAO ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joe Biden ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NPRM ,
Presidential Elections ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Secretary of DHS
Congress Dithers Over Pandemic Relief. Well, the update is that there is no update. Both Republicans and Democrats continue to dig in their heels over a fourth federal pandemic relief package. While many reports focus on the...more
On August 8, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum, which establishes a “lost wages assistance program” to help workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by dipping into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s...more
Legislative Relief Package Stalls. The Buzz recently predicted that negotiations over a fourth COVID-19 legislative relief package would be like an immovable object facing an unstoppable force. Unfortunately, it appears that...more
Congress Debates Next Relief Package. As the Buzz has anticipated for a while now, this week the U.S. Senate began crafting a “Phase 4” response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While progress was made, as of this writing, no...more
7/28/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Forced Labor ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
Offensive Language ,
Pay Data ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Travel Ban ,
Visas
Congress to Debate UI and Liability? For several weeks now, the Buzz has been discussing what might be included in the next federal legislative package to address the ongoing pandemic. Legislative discussions will begin to...more
Congress Set to Work on Subsequent Pandemic Relief. Congress is out on a two-week summer recess and will return the week of July 20, 2020. Upon return, it is expected that Senate Republicans will begin legislative discussions...more
Spring Regulatory Agenda Released. Last week, the Buzz wondered when we might see the administration’s spring regulatory forecast. Well, the administration must have noticed our comment, because on June 30, 2020, it released...more
7/6/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
TRICARE ,
USCIS