DACA Regulations Finalized. On August 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a final rule to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals...more
8/29/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Construction Contracts ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
OFCCP ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Inflation Reduction Act: Guidance on the Way? On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Democrats’ $737 billion reconciliation bill that focuses on tax reform, climate change,...more
Biden Administration Releases Regulatory Plans -
Maybe someone in the White House just read the Buzz’s Summer Forecast, because on June 21, 2022, the Biden administration released its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of...more
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
This week, President Biden released his budget for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins on October 1, 2022. As the Buzz has written many times in the past, because the U.S. Congress has the “power of the purse” and is solely...more
4/4/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
NPRM ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Reform
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
Trump-Era Independent Contractor Rule Reinstated. In a decision issued on March 15, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas reinstated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule, “Independent Contractor...more
3/21/2022
/ Caregivers ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
OFCCP ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Nuclear Fallout. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer deployed the so-called “nuclear option” this week by seeking to eliminate the legislative filibuster as applied to election reform legislation. (This procedure is...more
1/24/2022
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filibuster ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Union Membership ,
Unions
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
Build Back Better...in 2022? Over the last several weeks, the Buzz has been monitoring congressional Democrats’ efforts to pass the Build Back Better Act, a $1.7 trillion social-spending package containing, among other...more
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
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
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
Juneteenth Is Now a Federal Holiday. This week, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 - the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in...more
6/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
EBSA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Heritage & Culture ,
Holidays ,
New Legislation ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
In its first 100 days in office, the Biden administration has advanced its policy priorities, many of which have involved repealing the policy accomplishments of the previous presidential administration. The Biden...more
5/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Graduate Students ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Charge ,
Religious Exemption ,
Revocation ,
Student Employees ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
Secretary of Labor Confirmed. On March 23, 2021, former Boston mayor Martin Walsh was sworn in as the 29th U.S. Senate-confirmed secretary of labor. Walsh’s nomination had been approved by the Senate just one day earlier on a...more
3/29/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Conciliation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Religious Exemption ,
SBA ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Chaos in the Capitol. The calendar may read 2021, but in Washington, D.C., it sure feels a lot like 2020. The spectacle of rioters laying siege to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was horrific....more
1/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Nancy Pelosi ,
OFCCP ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Speaker of the House ,
Wellness Programs
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
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
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
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
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
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
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