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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

OFCCP Proposes Eliminating Disability Self-Identification and Analysis Requirements

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is proposing to eliminate longstanding disability compliance requirements, including self-identification, utilization analyses, and applicant tracking. If approved, OFCCP’s two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would modify agency regulations that implement the nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 503) and Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans...
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Category: ADA

Supreme Court Holds Only Qualified Individuals Can Bring ADA Discrimination Claims

Retirees cannot bring an employment discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act if they are not qualified for the job when the alleged discrimination occurs, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 20. The ruling in Stanley v. City of Sanford aligns with arguments put forth in a friend-of-the-court brief from the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association....
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

OFCCP Extends Audit Moratorium for Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program Providers

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has extended, for two years, its audit scheduling moratorium for specified health care entities that provide supplies and services to participants in the Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program (VAHBP). OFCCP extended the scheduling moratorium through May 7, 2027, via Directive 2021-01 Revision 2, Extending the Scheduling Moratorium for Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program (VAHBP)...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Appeals Court: General Safety Concerns Aren’t Enough To Deny Religious Accommodation

An employer cannot deny a religious accommodation under Title VII to an employee because of a general concern about safety, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled May 30. Smith v. City of Atlantic City concerned a fire department employee who requested a religious exemption from a requirement that all firefighters be clean-shaven. The rule was intended...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Judge Vacates Workplace Abortion Accommodation Provisions of PWFA

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cannot mandate accommodations to employees undergoing elective abortions, a federal judge ruled May 21. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ordered the EEOC to remove abortion accommodation requirements from its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rule. The judge vacated the parts of the PWFA rule that included abortion in the definition of “pregnancy, childbirth or...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump Proposes Eliminating OFCCP

President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request proposes abolishing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Under this proposal, OFCCP’s enforcement of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) would shift to the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), and OFCCP’s enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act would shift to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The proposed...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Proposes Phasing Out Subminimum Wages for People With Disabilities

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule December 4 that would phase out the Section 14(c) certificate program that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to individuals with disabilities. If the proposed rule were adopted in its current form, applications sent on or after the rule’s effective date would be ignored, and existing certificates would...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Says an Employee Has the Right To Use FMLA Leave for a Clinical Trial

An employee may use FMLA leave to participate in a clinical trial or research study to treat a serious health condition, according to a new opinion letter from the Labor Department. An eligible employee has the right to use FMLA leave because of a serious health condition. The Family and Medical Leave Act defines a serious health condition as an...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL Wage and Hour Division Again Reports Increase in FMLA Violations

The number of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) cases in which the Department of Labor found a violation increased in fiscal year 2024—and for a second consecutive year—after having declined annually over the previous decade, according to data recently released by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. This indicates that more employees are now electing to file complaints with WHD rather...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Third Circuit Confirms Chronic Serious Health Condition Must Be Established at the Time of Leave

To qualify as having a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee must have sought periodic treatment before requesting or taking leave for a chronic condition, a federal appeals court ruled October 18, 2024, in Rodriquez v. SEPTA. In a win for employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied a former...

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