On June 29, 2023, in a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the U.S. Supreme Court (“Court” or “Supreme Court”) held that college and...more
7/12/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
OFCCP released the national annual veteran hiring benchmark effective March 31, 2023, which measures the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force. Federal contractors are required to compare their...more
Effective March 31, 2023, OFCCP rescinded the Trump administration’s Final Rule, Implementing Legal Requirements Regarding the Equal Opportunity Clause’s Religious Exemption (Final Rule). The Final Rule was issued in December...more
UPDATE: On February 14, 2023, OFCC announced it was extending the February 17, 2023 deadline to file objections to the disclosure of Type 2 EEO-1 data. The new deadline to submit objections is March 3, 2023.
On or about...more
On or about February 7, 2023, OFCCP updated its announcement regarding the OFCCP list of 13,520 federal contractors (List of Non-Objectors or List) that have not objected to the release of their Type 2 EEO-1 data for the...more
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has made several announcements, including Directives, Notices, and Proposals in their quest to embark on initiatives that significantly impact federal contractors’...more
The increase in the frequency of violent confrontations faced by healthcare workers in the workplace is prompting OSHA to pursue a standard for Prevention of Workplace Violence in the Healthcare and Social Assistance...more
The Department of Energy (DOE) through the Office of Science (SC) has announced that beginning in FY 2023, all DOE funding solicitations, including the Office of Science Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and DOE...more
Key Points-
•On October 13, 2022 the Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking advising that it intends to alter the test used to distinguish “independent contractors” from employees under the Fair...more
On August 1, 2022, the California Court of Appeals issued an opinion that will put a stop to website accessibility discrimination cases against online-only businesses brought pursuant to the state’s Unruh Act. The case,...more
9/19/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Public Accommodation ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility
Federal contractors and subcontractors who filed Type 2 EEO-1 Reports for the years 2016-2020 are advised that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) intends to release the data from such filed EEO-1...more
On July 19, 2022, in the decision, Mothering Justice et al., v. Dana Nessel et al. (Nessel), the Michigan Court of Claims (Court) held that in 2018 the Michigan Legislature unconstitutionally amended two voter-initiatives,...more
In a world radically changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we communicate in the workplace has been permanently altered with the integration of online communication platforms. Effective communication is essential to...more
On Friday, June 24, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and held that the United States Constitution does not protect a woman’s right to terminate her...more
6/29/2022
/ Abortion ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Leave
In a unanimous 8-0 decision, in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) held that airline cargo ramp supervisors that assist with loading and unloading cargo constitute a class of workers engaged in...more
A new COVID-related bonus from the State of Minnesota is coming “to thank those Minnesotans who worked on the frontlines during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency.” Certain employers who employed frontline workers in Minnesota...more
On May 20, 2022, the Illinois Department of Labor released the anticipated proposed administrative rules to implement Section 11 of the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IL EPA) requiring businesses of 100 or more employees to file an...more
6/2/2022
/ Compliance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Illinois ,
Job Descriptions ,
Pay Data ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Registration ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Departments ,
Wage and Hour
Not surprisingly, simple solutions to complex issues are often elusive. Yet on rare occasions, the solution is in plain sight. Doubtful? For employers struggling with the issue of a remote employee’s eligibility for...more
In the last quarter of 2021, 69% of the 2.050 employees surveyed by Global Workplace Analytics and Owl Labs reported working remotely during the pandemic. One third of employees expressed a strong preference for continuing...more
5/18/2022
/ Business Expenses ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Out-of-State Employees ,
Reimbursements ,
Remote Working ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour
On May 3, 2022, OSHA held a stakeholder meeting regarding the development of a nationwide occupational heat standard to prevent heat injuries and illness. The meeting featured opening remarks by Assistant Secretary of Labor,...more
Many state wage-and-hour laws require that employers adhere to strict time requirements regarding payment of compensation owed upon termination, but the Massachusetts high court recently took that to another level....more
Beginning March 24, 2022 through March 23, 2024, the new payroll reporting obligations under the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) require private employers in Illinois with 100 or more employees to register and report extensive...more
4/7/2022
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Covered Employer ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Pay ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Illinois ,
Payroll Records ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Wages
While the term “caregiver” is not identified as a protected class under federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, workplace decisions that adversely impact job applicants and employees who are also caregivers can still...more
MSHA finally has a new leader. On March 29, 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote Christopher Williamson (Williamson) as Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at the Department of...more
On March 23, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice in the federal register announcing a limited re-opening of the comment period regarding OSHA’s final standard to protect...more