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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump’s Executive Order Recognizing Two, And Only Two, Sexes

On his first day in office, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14168 to establish the federal government’s position that there are two sexes, male and female, that are not changeable. The E.O. defines “female” as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell” and defines “male” as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump Rescinds Dozens of Executive Orders on First Day in Office

On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) rescinding more than 60 E.O.s issued by President Biden. Two of the rescinded E.O.s regulated federal contractors: E.O. 14055, which required successor contractors under the Service Contract Act (SCA) to offer jobs to a predecessor contractor’s employees; and E.O. 14069, which directed contracting agencies to consider requiring contractors to...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump Rescinds E.O. 11246

President Trump has issued a new Executive Order formally rescinding Executive Order 11246 and directing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to cease holding federal contractors responsible for taking affirmative action. Executive Order 11246 was signed by President Johnson in 1965, and prohibits covered federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of race and sex, among...
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Category: Executive Order

Ninth Circuit Rules Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase Exceeded Biden’s Authority

President Biden exceeded his authority by issuing Executive Order 14026 raising the federal contractor minimum wage to $15 per hour, a federal appeals court ruled November 5 in Nebraska v. Su. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit also held that the U.S. Department of Labor acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it published implementing regulations. The Ninth Circuit...
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Category: Compensation

DOL Announces Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Rates To Increase on January 1, 2025

The minimum wage rates for work performed on some government contracts will increase January 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced September 30, 2024. The rate on government contracts subject to President Obama’s Executive Order 13658—which governs government contracts entered into, renewed, or with options exercised before January 30, 2022—will increase from $12.90 to $13.30. The rate on contracts...
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Category: Executive Order

Biden’s New “Good Jobs” E.O.: Another Version of Union-Friendly “High Road”

President Biden has issued Executive Order 14126, which will require designated federal agencies to consider an employer’s labor and employment practices when awarding federal financial assistance under several recent laws. The E.O. applies to the selection of projects by “implementing agencies” for entities receiving “federal financial assistance” from the “Investing in America agenda.” By limiting coverage to grants, loans, and...
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Category: Executive Order

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Biden’s Federal Contractor Minimum Wage

President Biden had the authority to establish a minimum wage for federal contractors that exceeds the federal statutory minimum wage, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled April 30, 2024. In Bradford v. DOL, the Tenth Circuit became the first federal appeals court to rule on a challenge to the federal contractor minimum wage, although appeals are...
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Category: Executive Order

FAR Council Issues Final Rule Implementing 2022 Biden PLA Executive Order

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has issued a final rule directing federal agency contracting officers to insert a project labor agreement (PLA) requirement into most solicitations or prime contracts that will cost the government at least $35 million. The rule implements a 2022 Executive Order (E.O. 14063) from President Biden that essentially mandates the use of union labor on...
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Category: Artificial Intelligence

Sweeping New Biden Executive Order on AI Carves Out Role for Labor Department

President Biden has issued a wide-ranging executive order directing federal executive branch agencies to develop policies that manage the risks of artificial intelligence while recognizing its potential. Officially titled “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” E.O. 14110 was signed October 30, 2023. This memo focuses on the ramifications for the Department of Labor (DOL) and its...
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Category: Executive Order

DOL Announces Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Rates To Increase on January 1, 2024

The minimum wage rates for work performed under specified government contracts will increase January 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced. The minimum wage under contracts subject to E.O. 13658 (President Obama’s executive order relating to certain government contracts entered into, renewed, or with options exercised before January 30, 2022), will increase from $12.15 to $12.90. The...

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