Insights

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Category: Labor Relations

President Trump Fires NLRB Member Wilcox, General Counsel Abruzzo

President Trump has fired two Senate-confirmed Democrats from the National Labor Relations Board: Member and former Chair Gwynne Wilcox; and the Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo. Wilcox’s termination is controversial because the National Labor Relations Act states that the President may remove Board Members only for neglect of duty or malfeasance. Wilcox’s term was not scheduled to end until August 2028. She...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

President Trump Fires EEOC Commissioners Burrows and Samuels; General Counsel Gilbride

President Trump has fired three Senate-confirmed Democrats from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Commissioner and former Chair Charlotte Burrows; Commissioner and former Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels; and General Counsel Karla Gilbride. While Title VII does not include express removal protections like the laws establishing some independent agencies, the White House historically has treated the EEOC with a degree of independence....
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Category: Immigration

Fifth Circuit Rules DACA Unlawful

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is unlawful, but the program will continue to protect current DACA beneficiaries, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled January 17. Under Texas v. United States, new DACA applications will not be processed, but the court stayed its ruling for current DACA beneficiaries so they can keep their DACA status...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC “Commissioner Charges” Remained Active in FY 2024

Commissioners at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have been making above-average use of Commissioner charges to prompt discrimination investigations, according to data released by the EEOC. EEOC Commissioners initiated 33 charges alleging discrimination under Title VII, the ADA, GINA, and PWFA in fiscal year 2024. Commissioner charges are discrimination charges initiated by an EEOC Commissioner. Proposals for Commissioner charges come from various...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Acting Secretary of Labor Micone Orders OFCCP To Halt All E.O. 11246 Investigations

Acting Labor Secretary Vincent Micone has ordered DOL personnel to cease all enforcement activities under rescinded Executive Order 11246 and to pause enforcement activities under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 pending further guidance. Secretary’s Order 03-2025, issued January 24, 2025, covers “all pending cases, conciliation agreements, investigations, complaints, and any other enforcement-related or investigative activity.”...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

President Trump Rescinds Dozens of Executive Orders on First Day in Office

On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) rescinding more than 60 E.O.s issued by President Biden. Two of the rescinded E.O.s regulated federal contractors: E.O. 14055, which required successor contractors under the Service Contract Act (SCA) to offer jobs to a predecessor contractor’s employees; and E.O. 14069, which directed contracting agencies to consider requiring contractors to...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President Trump Designates New Leadership at Workplace Compliance Agencies

President Trump has moved quickly to install new leadership at agencies responsible for workplace compliance. He has already designated new officials at the EEOC, where he named Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas to serve as Acting Chair, and at the NLRB, where he designated Republican Marvin Kaplan to serve as Chairman. At the Labor Department, he designated career official Vince Micone...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President-Elect Trump Picks Former EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling for Deputy Secretary of Labor

President-elect Trump has announced Keith Sonderling as his choice to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor. The Deputy Labor Secretary is DOL’s second-in-command and generally manages the department’s day-to-day operations. Sonderling served as an EEOC Commissioner from September 2020 until August 2024. Before that, he served as Acting Administrator of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. President Trump will have to...
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Category: Compensation

Massachusetts Publishes Filing Details for February 1st EEO-1 Reporting Requirement

Massachusetts has issued FAQs explaining employers’ obligation to report workforce data under the state’s new Salary Range Transparency Act. Under the law, employers with 100 or more employees in Massachusetts must submit a copy of their most recent EEO-1 Report to the state annually by February 1 (or the next business day). This year they will be due February 3. The FAQs explain...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Revises Rule Governing EEO Reporting Exemptions

The EEOC issued a final rule January 10, 2025, revising its regulations governing hardship exemptions from annual EEO-1 reporting.   To be exempt from EEO reporting requirements, an employer must show undue hardship. Previously, EEOC Commissioners voted on exemption applications. Now, however, the Chief Data Officer will process applications. Under the new rule, an exemption is more likely to be granted when: The filer...

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