Insights

August 08, 2024
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

2024 VETS-4212 Filing Season Underway, Submission Deadline Is September 30

The Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) has opened the filing system for the VETS-4212 Report. The submission deadline is September 30, 2024. The VETS-4212 form provides a workforce snapshot by protected veteran status, as well as the number of protected veteran new hires for the preceding 12-month period. Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to file it...
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August 06, 2024
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Category: Compliance Tools

CWC’s Updated Template for Mandatory ESDS Notifications Under VEVRAA

CWC has updated a template that can assist its federal contractor members in meeting their employment service delivery system (ESDS) notice requirements. CWC’s members can use the updated template to satisfy the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) ESDS notice obligations under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) requirements codified at 41 CFR § 60-300.5(a)(4). That rule...
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August 06, 2024
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

FAR Council Proposes Reinstating Lapsed Contractor Reporting Requirement

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council wants to reinstate a requirement obligating covered federal contractors to report executive compensation and first-tier subcontract awards. The FAR Council is an interagency entity that coordinates federal government procurement policy and regulatory activities. In a notice published May 24, 2024, the FAR Council indicated that it will seek approval from the White House Office of...
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August 06, 2024
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Category: Appropriations

Best Case Scenario for EEOC, OFCCP in FY 2025 May Be Flat Funding

As Congress moves forward with setting federal government funding levels for fiscal year 2025, it seems increasingly likely that workforce enforcement agencies will be funded at current FY 2024 levels. These agencies include the Labor Department’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). FY 2025...
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August 05, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OMB Approves OFCCP’s Burdensome New Construction Contractor Scheduling Letter

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) expanded version of the Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing for notifying construction contractors of a compliance evaluation. OMB also has approved a revised version of OFCCP’s new Construction Contract Award Notification Requirement Form (Form CC-314). Both approvals begin July 31, 2024,...
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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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July 31, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Ninth Circuit Rules That §1981 Prohibits Hiring Discrimination Based on U.S. Citizenship Status

The Civil Rights Act of 1866—commonly referred to as Section 1981—not only protects against intentional race discrimination but also against hiring discrimination based on U.S. citizenship, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held June 27, 2024, in Rajaram v. Meta Platforms. Section 1981 provides that “all persons” within U.S. jurisdiction “shall have the same right … to...
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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 30, 2024
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Category: Regulatory Guidance/Interpretation

New Guidance From CFPB Asserts Confidentiality Agreements Can Violate Whistleblower Laws

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued guidance stating that broadly-worded confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) may violate federal whistleblower laws by unlawfully deterring employees from exercising their whistleblower rights. Employers that require employees and former employees to sign broad confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements in return for a separation agreement or continued employment risk being found in violation of...
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July 24, 2024
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

EEOC COVID Vaccine Settlement Highlights Risk in Questioning Employees’ Religious Beliefs

A recent settlement involving an employer and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) illustrates the potential risk for an employer that questions whether an employee who asks for a religious accommodation has sincere religious beliefs. The settlement agreement in EEOC v. Hank’s Furniture, (N.D. Fla. July 15, 2024), prohibits the employer from concluding that any religious belief is not sincere because the...
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