Insights

December 19, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

California Is Cracking Down on Employer Noncompliance With Ban-the-Box Law

California’s Civil Rights Department recently entered into settlements with multiple companies over alleged violations of the state’s ban-the-box law, CRD announced December 3. The settlements involved allegations that the companies violated the California Fair Chance Act by improperly rejecting job applicants based on their criminal history. CRD concluded that the companies violated the Act by: Failing to show a direct...
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December 19, 2024
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Federal Appeals Court Vacates Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rules

A federal appeals court has vacated the Nasdaq stock market’s rule requiring Nasdaq-listed companies to disclose diversity data for their boards of directors. In 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have at least one female and one minority/LGBTQ board member or explain their lack of diversity. The rule also required covered companies to...
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December 17, 2024
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

Maryland District Court Allows Naval Academy To Consider Race in Admissions

The Naval Academy’s consideration of applicants’ race in admissions decisions does not violate the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, a federal court ruled December 6 in Students for Fair Admissions v. U.S. Naval Academy. In upholding the Naval Academy’s practice, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland distinguished this case from last year’s Supreme Court Harvard decision, which rejected...
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December 11, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

DOJ Releases Fact Sheet on Anti-Discrimination Rights of Green Card Holders

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, has issued a Fact Sheet that outlines workplace discrimination protections for permanent residents (often called “green card holders”). IER’s two-page Fact Sheet, published in November, is entitled “Lawful Permanent Residents’ Employment Rights Under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” It delineates protections under the INA in three areas: hiring, firing,...
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December 11, 2024
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Category: FLSA

Should Expense Reimbursements Be Included When Calculating Overtime? A New Opinion Letter Explains

In the Biden Administration’s first opinion letter interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Wage and Hour Division has discussed the effect of expense reimbursements on an employee’s regular pay rate for the employee’s overtime premium. An oil and gas industry employer that reimburses its pipeline inspectors $25 per day for the use of their personal mobile phones, cameras, and computers...
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December 09, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

OFCCP Publishes Guide on Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has published A Guide to Combatting Harassment in the Construction Industry. The guide, released in November, uses a question-and-answer format. Though the guide focuses on federal construction contractors, other employers can use it to better understand and prevent harassment in the workplace. The guide explains that construction contractors have an affirmative obligation...
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December 09, 2024
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Category: DOL

DOL Appears To Abandon Its Attempt To Overhaul the Registered Apprenticeship Program

The Biden Administration appears to be giving up on its attempt to overhaul the regulations governing registered apprenticeship programs. The Labor Department published its proposed rule on January 17, 2024, and in June sent a draft of the final regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval. On November 27, 2024, OMB posted on its website that the...
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December 05, 2024
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Proposes Phasing Out Subminimum Wages for People With Disabilities

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule December 4 that would phase out the Section 14(c) certificate program that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to individuals with disabilities. If the proposed rule were adopted in its current form, applications sent on or after the rule’s effective date would be ignored, and existing certificates would...
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December 04, 2024
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Says an Employee Has the Right To Use FMLA Leave for a Clinical Trial

An employee may use FMLA leave to participate in a clinical trial or research study to treat a serious health condition, according to a new opinion letter from the Labor Department. An eligible employee has the right to use FMLA leave because of a serious health condition. The Family and Medical Leave Act defines a serious health condition as an...
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December 02, 2024
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Category: Executive Order

Ninth Circuit Rules Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase Exceeded Biden’s Authority

President Biden exceeded his authority by issuing Executive Order 14026 raising the federal contractor minimum wage to $15 per hour, a federal appeals court ruled November 5 in Nebraska v. Su. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit also held that the U.S. Department of Labor acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it published implementing regulations. The Ninth Circuit...
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