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
8/26/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Democratic National Committee ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Political Parties ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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
5/28/2024
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
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
5/13/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Compliance ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses
House Advances Bipartisan Tax Package. On January 31, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) by a vote of 357–70....more
Shutdown Fallout: McCarthy Out. On September 30, 2023, the U.S. Congress acted quickly—and surprisingly—to pass stopgap funding legislation to avoid what looked to be an inevitable shutdown of the federal government. With a...more
10/9/2023
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Newsom ,
Harassment ,
Independent Contractors ,
OIRA ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Speaker of the House ,
U.S. House ,
Ukraine ,
Wage and Hour
The House Returns, Shutdown Looms. The U.S. House of Representatives returned this week from its August break. As the Buzz has discussed recently, the federal government appropriations process is front and center, and all...more
9/18/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Congressional Committees ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Shutdown ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Wage and Hour
DOL Proposes Changes to Overtime Regulations. On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the regulations implementing the overtime provisions...more
9/5/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Safety Inspections ,
Third-Party ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Su Slips. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su’s chances of becoming the actual secretary of labor continued to dwindle this week. Multiple media reports indicate that the administration is no longer pushing for Su’s...more
7/31/2023
/ Child Labor ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Form I-9 ,
Heat Exposure ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Minimum Wage ,
OLMS ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Wage and Hour
Congress Returns, Works on “Must Pass” Bills. Following their Fourth of July recess, members of the U.S. Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week and turned their attention to several “must pass” pieces of...more
7/17/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
NLRB ,
Nominations ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Wage and Hour
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
DOL Extends IC Proposal Comment Period. On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced an extension of the public comment period for its proposal to amend the independent contractor...more
10/31/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Posting Requirements ,
Railroads ,
Relief Measures ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
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
Congressional Update. It’s the dog days of summer in Washington, D.C., and both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are out on recess. But Congress is still making news....more
8/15/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Congressional Committees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OSHA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Voting ,
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
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
Members of the U.S. Congress were out this week for their Independence Day break, but they are scheduled to return during the week beginning July 11, 2022, when they will begin a busy three-week legislative period leading up...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
Last week, in part one of our two-part Summer Forecast of labor and employment-related legislative and agency developments, the Buzz took a look at the U.S. Congress and what our legislators might have in store for employers...more
6/13/2022
/ Blacklist ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USDA ,
Wage and Hour
DOL Appeals Reinstatement of Independent Contractor Rule. Late last week, the administration filed its notice of appeal of the recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to reinstate the...more
EEOC, DOJ Issue Guidance on AI in the Workplace. -
On May 12, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) each issued guidance documents addressing potential...more
5/16/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blacklist ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Guidance ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
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
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union Address this week. Though it was easy to miss in the speech, workplace policy observers may have noticed that the president briefly pushed for passage of the Paycheck...more
3/7/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
H-1B ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
L-1 Visas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Minimum Wage ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State of the Union ,
Wage and Hour
In a rare moment of bipartisanship - particularly in the labor and employment policy sphere - the U.S. Congress this week passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The bill...more
2/14/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Logistics ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trucking Industry ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Second Time Is the Charm? On October 28, 2021, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released text of their revamped and slimmed-down Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) (though at nearly 1,700 pages, “slimmed down” is...more
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