January 02, 2025
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Category: Immigration

DHS Issues Another Rule Seeking To Modernize the H-1B Visa Program

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a second final rule aimed at modernizing the H-1B specialty occupation visa program. The “Modernizing H-1B Requirements” final rule goes into effect January 17, 2025. In February 2024, USCIS published the first part of its H-1B modernization rule, which implemented a new lottery process to reduce fraud....
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December 09, 2024
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Category: DOL

DOL Appears To Abandon Its Attempt To Overhaul the Registered Apprenticeship Program

The Biden Administration appears to be giving up on its attempt to overhaul the regulations governing registered apprenticeship programs. The Labor Department published its proposed rule on January 17, 2024, and in June sent a draft of the final regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval. On November 27, 2024, OMB posted on its website that the...
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December 05, 2024
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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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October 21, 2024
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

EEOC Proposes a New Rule for Filers Seeking Exemption From EEO Reporting Requirements

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed revising its rules regarding hardship exemptions to EEO reporting requirements. The proposed rule would delegate the Commission’s authority to decide hardship exemption applications to the agency’s chief data officer. It also would establish a procedure for applying for exemptions and provide examples of criteria for granting exemptions. Almost all covered employers and federal...
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October 15, 2024
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Category: Government Contracts

USDA Finalizes Procurement Revisions Without Controversial Blacklisting Provisions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has amended the Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR) to align with changes to acquisition law, regulations, and internal USDA policies. The USDA’s final rule takes effect November 6, 2024. Notably, the rule does not include controversial blacklisting provisions that USDA had twice proposed previously. The blacklisting provisions, which CWC opposed, would have required USDA contractors to certify compliance...
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August 27, 2024
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Category: Comment Letter

CWC Urges USDA To Keep “Blacklisting” Out of Its Revised Procurement Regulations

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, filed comments August 27 supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to drop controversial blacklisting provisions from its proposed overhaul of its procurement regulations. USDA’s decision to drop the provisions is a reversal from the proposed overhaul of the Agriculture Acquisition Regulation (AGAR) that the agency published two years...
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July 31, 2024
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Category: Government Contracts

USDA Once Again Abandons Attempt To Add “Blacklisting” Provisions to Its Procurement Regs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed revisions to its procurement regulations similar to those it proposed two years ago, but this time there are no blacklisting provisions. Two years ago, the USDA’s proposal to update its procurement procedures included controversial provisions that would have required USDA contractors to certify compliance with all applicable labor laws. It also would...
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July 16, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Latest Biden Reg Agenda Lists EEOC Pay Data Collection Rulemaking in Early 2025

The Biden Administration’s latest semi-annual regulatory agenda, published July 5, 2024, confirms that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) plans to propose regulations early next year that will lead to a new pay data collection tool. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has extended the timeline for modernizing its affirmative action regulations, with...
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July 11, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Texas Federal Court Temporarily Blocks FTC’s Controversial Noncompete Rule

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order temporarily blocking the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing its controversial new noncompete rule against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the other plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit to invalidate it. The rule prohibits most noncompete agreements that restrict workers from taking a new job or starting a...
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July 10, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Supreme Court Scraps 40-Year-Old Test Requiring Courts To Defer to Agency Regulatory Interpretations

Federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of unclear statutory language, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 28, 2024, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In that case, a divided Court overturned the Chevron deference principle under which courts deferred to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The Court said agencies do not have any special competence...
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