March 20, 2025
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

EEOC Publishes First Guidance on DEI-Related Discrimination in the Workplace

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 19 published two documents addressing how workplace practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The first document — entitled “What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work” — aimed at individuals who might have experienced DEI-related discrimination. The second...
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February 25, 2025
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Biden’s Wage and Hour Division Publishes Guidance in Final Days

In the final days of the Biden Administration, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division issued two opinion letters. WHD opinion letters are not binding on the courts, but employers may rely on them. DOL Opinion Letter FMLA 2025-01-A — FMLA interplay with state and local paid leave programs DOL Opinion Letter FMLA 2025-01-A states that an employer cannot require an employee who...
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February 03, 2025
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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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January 06, 2025
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

New EEOC Fact Sheet Highlights Compliance Risks Related to Wearable Technologies in the Workplace

Wearable technologies in the workplace are the subject of a fact sheet released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on December 19, 2024. Examples of wearable devices include smart watches that track employees’ activities or monitor their condition, proximity sensors that warn wearers of nearby hazards, smart glasses and helmets that measure the brain’s electrical activity, and GPS devices that...
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December 11, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

DOJ Releases Fact Sheet on Anti-Discrimination Rights of Green Card Holders

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, has issued a Fact Sheet that outlines workplace discrimination protections for permanent residents (often called “green card holders”). IER’s two-page Fact Sheet, published in November, is entitled “Lawful Permanent Residents’ Employment Rights Under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” It delineates protections under the INA in three areas: hiring, firing,...
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December 11, 2024
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Category: FLSA

Should Expense Reimbursements Be Included When Calculating Overtime? A New Opinion Letter Explains

In the Biden Administration’s first opinion letter interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Wage and Hour Division has discussed the effect of expense reimbursements on an employee’s regular pay rate for the employee’s overtime premium. An oil and gas industry employer that reimburses its pipeline inspectors $25 per day for the use of their personal mobile phones, cameras, and computers...
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December 09, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

OFCCP Publishes Guide on Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has published A Guide to Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry. The guide, released in November, uses a question-and-answer format. Though the guide focuses on federal construction contractors, other employers can use it to better understand and prevent harassment in the workplace. The guide explains that construction contractors have an affirmative obligation...
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November 14, 2024
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Category: Policies and Practices

CFPB Warns That Certain Workplace Monitoring Technologies May Trigger Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued guidance warning that employers who use specific types of workplace monitoring technologies may inadvertently be risking liability under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Some workplace technology providers may satisfy the definition of a “consumer reporting agency” under the FCRA, according to CFPB’s Circular 2024-06—entitled Background Dossiers and Algorithmic Scores for Hiring, Promotion, and...
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September 05, 2024
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

Responding to Item 21 on the OFCCP Scheduling Letter’s Itemized Listing

In the year since the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) began using a more burdensome Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing to notify federal contractors of an upcoming compliance evaluation, Item 21 on the Itemized Listing has generated confusion. Item 21 asks the contractor to identify and document “policies, practices, or systems used to recruit, screen, and...
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August 01, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP Issues New Directive on “Expedited Conciliation Procedures”

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a new Directive 2024-01, “Expedited Conciliation Procedures,” that outlines the process that the agency will follow when offering an expedited conciliation option to a federal contractor that is under review. OFCCP’s 2023 rule on Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures details the “expedited conciliation option.” While Directive 2024-01 formally rescinds...
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