U.S. DOL Pauses Enforcement of Biden-era Independent Contractor Rule -
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a press release announcing new guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor...more
5/5/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
President Donald Trump embarked on an aggressive agenda in the first 100 days of his administration, relying largely on executive orders and administrative action that appear designed to test the limit of the executive...more
4/30/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
Chair Cassidy (R-LA) Releases White Paper on Providing Benefits to Independent Workers -
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a white paper...more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
4/18/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision Allowing Reinstatement of NLRB Member Wilcox -
On April 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox could...more
At a Glance -
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior...more
At a Glance -
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior...more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/24/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Trump Administration
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/17/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Workweek ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/10/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OCR ,
Title VI ,
Unions
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
3/3/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Small Business ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
We are pleased to present the Policy Week in Review (PWR) prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the government relations and public policy arm of Littler. The PWR will set forth in one place WPI’s updates on...more
Among the first actions taken by the incoming administration was to rescind Executive Order (EO) 14055. Titled “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” EO 14055 required certain federal contractors to...more
On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated and set aside the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s final regulation increasing the salary threshold for the “white collar” overtime...more
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a limited injunction of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new regulations increasing the minimum salary that certain executive, administrative,...more
On March 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down regulations promulgated by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) defining joint employment (the “new Rule” or “2023...more
3/11/2024
/ Controlling Employer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Vacated
Under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (known as the Closing Loopholes Act), as of January 1, 2025, intentional underpayment of employees’ wages and certain benefits will be a criminal offense, with a maximum of 10 years’...more
The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule on January 9, 2024, defining “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final regulation rescinds a 2021 rule defining the same term. In place...more
1/9/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) released a final rule setting forth the standard for joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “the Act”). The rule...more
On August 8, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor published its final rule, calling for the most sweeping revisions to the rules governing Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) enforcement since the Reagan administration’s 1982 reforms....more
In a significant win for California employers, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta,1 affirmed a district court injunction striking down California Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”) as preempted by the...more
2/20/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws
On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department published in the Federal Register its guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) new prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Taxpayers seeking to qualify for...more
12/2/2022
/ Apprenticeships ,
Construction Project ,
Employees ,
Energy Projects ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wage and Hour
On Friday, October 14, 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (“Task Force”) announced that they anticipate further guidance will be issued following the narrowing of the...more
10/18/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OMB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Among many other provisions, the IRA contains a new federal 30% tax credit for private construction, alteration or repair of...more
10/14/2022
/ Apprenticeships ,
Clean Energy ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Project ,
Employees ,
Energy Projects ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Comment ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wage and Hour