Insights

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Category: State and Local Compliance

New CWC Resource Explains California State Contractor Nondiscrimination Requirements

CWC has prepared a resource that details California’s nondiscrimination requirements for state contractors. “CWC’s Guide to California State Contractor Nondiscrimination Requirements” explains the obligations that California imposes on its contractors, including the requirement to implement and maintain a nondiscrimination program. Following the rescission of federal Executive Order 11246, many federal contractors are wondering whether state and local affirmative action requirements remain...
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Category: Wage and Hour

DOL Says Emergency Pay Premiums Must Be Included In The Regular Rate When Calculating Overtime Pay

An employer must include premium emergency pay in the regular pay rate when calculating an employee’s overtime pay, according to a September 30 opinion letter from DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. The letter responds to a firefighter asking whether “emergency pay” —premium pay for working during a disaster or declared emergency — must be included in the regular rate. The Fair...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Settles Age Discrimination Lawsuit With Enterprise Leasing For $1.8 Million

Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida will pay $1.8 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced September 25. Enterprise Leasing Company operates National, Enterprise, and Alamo car rental services in Florida. The settlement ends a federal suit — EEOC v. Enterprise Leasing Company of Florida — charging that the rental car company since at least 2019...
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Category: Wage and Hour

DOL Says Front-Of-House Oyster Shuckers Can Participate In Tip Pool

A new Labor Department opinion letter confirms that restaurants may include front-of-house oyster shuckers in traditional tip pools with servers. The opinion letter concludes that front-of-house oyster shuckers, who interact with customers but don’t directly receive tips, may be included in a traditional tip pool with servers for whom the employer takes a tip credit. The Fair Labor Standards Act...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

E-Verify Re-Opens During Government Shutdown

E-Verify has resumed operations despite the government shutdown. Its temporary outage prevented employers from creating new cases and addressing tentative nonconfirmations (TNCs), but now that the system is back up, employers must promptly fulfill their E-Verify obligations. E-Verify employers have until October 14 to create new cases for employees hired during the outage. When the system requests an explanation for...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Third Circuit Limits DOL’s Power To Impose Penalties Under H-2A Program

DOL must pursue civil penalties and back wages for alleged violations of its H-2A visa regulations in federal court instead of unilaterally imposing these payments on an employer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in Sun Valley Orchards v. DOL. DOL alleged that a New Jersey employer violated the H-2A visa program by coercing employees to end...
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Category: Wage and Hour

DOL Issues Guidance on Joint Employment

A new DOL opinion letter concludes that a restaurant and a members’ club located inside the same hotel were joint employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. DOL found that the following facts suggested joint employment: Facilities appearing operationally integrated, including physical proximity, common spaces, and common services; Shared ownership; Management teams that periodically supervised work for the other entity;...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DHS Proposes H-1B Rule That Favors Higher-Paid Workers In Lottery

The Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule September 24 that would replace the current random H-1B visa lottery with a weighted selection system that favors beneficiaries in higher-paying jobs. Under the proposed rule, when registering for the H-1B lottery, employers would need to provide the offered wage, the corresponding wage level, the job’s SOC code, and the work location....
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Category: Agency Enforcement

E-Verify Suspended During Shutdown — What Employers Need To Know

As of October 1, the E-Verify system is temporarily unavailable because of the government shutdown. This means that for the duration of the shutdown employers will be unable to access their accounts or perform any E-Verify-related actions, including case creation, user management, or mismatch resolution. The Department of Homeland Security has suspended the three-day rule for creating E-Verify cases, but Form...
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Category: Affirmative Action and DEI

CWC Urges OFCCP To Revisit Administrative Enforcement Regime

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has submitted two comment letters to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. CWC’s comments respond to OFCCP’s proposals to (1) rescind its regulations related to Executive Order 11246 and (2) transfer any remaining regulations needed to enforce the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) to 41 C.F.R. Part 60-300. CWC’s...

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