Insights

July 01, 2022
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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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July 01, 2022
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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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July 01, 2022
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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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July 01, 2022
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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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June 24, 2022
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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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June 24, 2022
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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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June 17, 2022
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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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June 17, 2022
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Seventh Circuit Gives Broad Interpretation to FMLA’s Interference Prohibition

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled recently that an employer can unlawfully interfere with an employee’s rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by merely discouraging the person from requesting leave, regardless of whether the request is actually denied. Although the ruling doesn’t break any new legal ground – it is consistent with the...
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June 17, 2022
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

GAO Issues Report Concluding OFCCP Can Do a Better Job on Its VEVRAA Oversight

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the research arm of the U.S. Congress, has issued a report concluding that the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) isn’t doing enough to help federal contractors comply with their affirmative action obligations for veterans protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). The 45-page report, entitled “Equal Employment...
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June 17, 2022
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Releases New Studies Highlighting Success of Agency’s Online Mediation Program

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made public two new studies prepared by independent researchers showing that the agency’s shift to virtual or remote mediation, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a success. In fact, the reports indicate that the EEOC’s online dispute resolution is, in some respects, even more popular than the agency’s traditional mediation program. Members...
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