Insights

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Category: Government Contracts

Proposed SCA “Nondisplacement” Rule Would Reinstate Right of First Refusal Policy

As we reported previously, late last year President Biden signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14055, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts, that essentially mandated reinstatement of a policy requiring successor contractors on contracts covered by the federal Service Contract Act (SCA) to give the predecessor’s employees the right of first refusal for jobs under the successor contract. The Biden E.O....
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP’s AAP-VI Contractor Portal Remains Open (For Now)

Despite a June 30 deadline set by the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) for federal contractors to certify to OFCCP, via the agency’s new online Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI) Contractor Portal, that they have developed and maintained AAPs in accordance with OFCCP regulations, the AAP-VI portal remains open as of this writing. OFCCP has...
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Category: Supreme Court

High Court Hones “Major Questions” Doctrine, With Implications for Agency Rulemaking

In one of its last opinions issued before the end of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling that sheds light on the so-called “major questions” doctrine, an emerging legal standard that can be used to challenge agency rulemaking. Although the case at issue deals with a regulation issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the...
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Category: State and Local Law

Interstate: July 2022 Update

We are pleased to present the latest edition of our “Interstate” memo series, a service we provide to nation-wide employers on a periodic basis when state and local legislatures are active to help them stay on top of important new state and local workplace compliance developments. Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Ninth Circuit Rules Employee Who Failed Drug Test Can Bring Disability Claim

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled 2–1 that a jury should decide whether a terminated employee can use an employer’s alleged lackadaisical drug testing policy and the facts surrounding the timing of a pre-employment drug test to prove that the real reason for his termination was disability discrimination under California law. The court’s...
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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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