Insights

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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL Pauses Enforcement of Biden’s Independent Contractor Rule

The Labor Department (DOL) will no longer enforce the existing independent contractor rule, DOL announced May 1. Instead, when deciding whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, the Wage and Hour Division will rely on Fact Sheet #13 (which originated during President George W. Bush’s term), according to Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2025-1. The Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and...
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Category: Legislation

CWC’s Guide to USERRA Amendments of 2025

Early this year, Congress amended the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to expand its protections for military service members and veterans. USERRA gives service members the right to return to their former or equivalent civilian jobs if they meet specified conditions and forbids employers to discriminate against employees or applicants based on their military service. The amendments, included...
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Category: Appropriations

Proposed Budget Seeks Nearly 35% Cut to Labor Department

President Trump sent Congress an outline of his budget request for fiscal year 2026 on May 2. The proposal seeks a cut of nearly 35% for the Labor Department, mostly from workforce training programs. FY 2026 runs from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The proposal seeks $8.6 billion for DOL, a decrease of $4.6 billion (34.9%) from its...
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Category: DOL

Trump Orders Overhaul of Worker Training To Emphasize Registered Apprenticeships

President Trump’s vision for overhauling federal workforce training programs includes greater use of apprenticeships to fill the jobs that he expects to materialize as companies reshore their manufacturing operations. The President unveiled his ideas April 23 in Executive Order 14278 — “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future.” The order gives the Secretaries of Labor, Education, and Commerce...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Updated Template for Good Faith Outreach Letter To Reflect Rescission of Executive Order 11246

The Center for Workplace Compliance, our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has issued an updated template for good faith outreach letters. CWC members can use this template when drafting good faith outreach letters to organizations that can help identify qualified veterans and persons with disabilities for their open job positions. President Trump's Executive Order 14173 rescinded the authority for developing AAPs...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Trump Administration’s New Position on Disparate Impact Liability Doesn’t Impact Private Litigation

On April 23, President Trump signed Executive Order 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, which seeks to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability under civil rights laws. Disparate impact is a theory under many civil rights laws that can lead to liability when a neutral policy or practice adversely affects members of a protected class. The E.O. directs the Equal Employment...
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Category: Arbitration and Dispute Resolution

Sixth Circuit: Anti-Arbitration Law Could Apply to Conduct Occurring Before Law’s Effective Date

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act can apply to sexual harassment disputes arising from conduct that occurred before the EFAA was enacted, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held April 18 in Memmer v. United Wholesale Mortgage. The EFAA is an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act that...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

DOL Blocked From Requiring Contractors And Grantees To Certify Compliance With E.O. 14173

A federal district court has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Labor Department from requiring recipients of federal contracts and grants to certify that they do not have illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The order does not affect contracts and grants with agencies other than DOL. The ruling came April 14 in Chicago Women in Trades [CWIT] v. Trump....
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Category: Policies and Practices

New CWC Resource on State Non-Compete Agreement Restrictions

A new resource about state rules on non-compete agreements is available from the Center for Workplace Compliance, our affiliated nonprofit membership association. This resource is designed to help CWC members navigate non-compete standards across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. A non-compete agreement is a legal contract between an employer and an employee that restricts the employee from engaging in specified activities...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Updated Disability and Veterans AAP Narrative Template Now Available on CWC Website

An updated narrative template for reporting on affirmative action programs for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities is available from the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association. President Trump's Executive Order 14173 rescinded the authority for developing AAPs for women and minorities under E.O. 11246 but did not change the recordkeeping, compliance, and reporting requirements for...

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