Insights

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Category: Policies and Practices

Some Initial Compliance Questions To Consider In Light of Dobbs Ruling

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and almost 50 years of precedent in holding that there is no right to abortion recognized by the U.S. Constitution, employers are raising questions regarding how Dobbs might intersect with workplace compliance obligations. This memo addresses some of...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Comments With OMB Supporting Extension of OFCCP’s FAAP Program

Our affiliated non-profit association, the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), has filed written comments with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in support of a request by the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to extend, with minor changes, its Functional Affirmative Action Program (FAAP) application and approval process for another three years. Periodic...
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Category: Arbitration and Dispute Resolution

Supreme Court Rules Arbitration Can Trump Certain California “PAGA” Claims

The U.S. Supreme Court, in its most recent arbitration decision, has ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts an interpretation of California law that prohibits enforcement of individual arbitration agreements under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). As a result of the High Court’s ruling, an employee who has entered into a valid arbitration agreement to resolve his or...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

New Biden Regulatory Agenda Still Ambitious, But Little Changed From December Version

The Biden Administration has published its latest semi-annual regulatory agenda, a document required by statute that contains a list of each regulatory action federal agencies plan to take during the next 12 months, along with a time estimate by each agency as to when the action will be taken. As was the case with the agenda published last December that...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

OMB Announces New Review (and Perhaps Revision) of Race/Ethnicity Reporting Standards

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has published an official notice announcing that it is forming a new Interagency Technical Working Group to review and possibly revise the current standards governing the race and ethnicity categories used in collecting and reporting demographic data to the federal government. Formally known as “Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No....
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Category: COVID-19

Fifth Circuit Rules COVID-Related Layoffs Are Not Exempt From WARN Act Notice

In a ruling of first impression by the federal appeals courts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the COVID-19 pandemic does not qualify as a “natural disaster” excusing an employer’s failure to comply with the notice requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. And while only binding within the jurisdiction of the Fifth...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

D.C. Circuit Reverses Precedent, Broadens Title VII Protection

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has expanded the types of actions that violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) by ruling that an employer that changes terms and conditions of employment based on a person’s protected characteristic can be liable, regardless of whether the action results in “objectively tangible...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Unanimous ARB Reverses Pro-OFCCP Ruling, Finds ALJ Applied Wrong Legal Theories

In a rare decision involving the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the Labor Department’s (DOL) Administrative Review Board (ARB) has unanimously reversed a 2019 DOL administrative law judge’s (ALJ) ruling that a federal contractor violated Executive Order (E.O.) 11246 by committing hiring discrimination against thousands of African American job applicants. The ARB is the Secretary of Labor-appointed tribunal...
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Category: Compensation

New York State Is Latest Jurisdiction To Mandate Pay Disclosure

The New York state legislature has passed and sent to Governor Kathy Hochul for her expected signature a bill that will require covered state employers to include salary and other information in their job postings. Once signed into law, Senate Bill 9427 is scheduled to go into effect in 270 days, likely sometime early next year. The New York bill...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Before You Certify to OFCCP: AAP-VI Checklist

As the June 30 deadline approaches for supply and service federal contractors to certify that they have developed and maintained Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) using the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) new Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI) Contractor Portal, we wanted to provide you with assistance in determining exactly what it means to have “developed...

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