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Category: DOL

DOL Finalizes Rule Reinstating Right of First Refusal Policy on SCA Contracts

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a final rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors on covered service contracts to offer employees employed under a predecessor contract a right of first refusal of employment on a successor contract. The rule will take effect February 12, 2024. It restores a policy implemented by the Obama Administration and reversed by the Trump Administration....
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Category: EEOC

Government’s Latest Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda Shows New Activity by the EEOC

This memo summarizes workplace-related regulatory priorities that the Biden Administration listed in its latest semi-annual regulatory agenda. This memo, as well as a chart prepared by our affiliated nonprofit membership association, the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), provide a user-friendly digest of regulatory developments that we are following. Notably, for the first time in several years, the agenda lists several new...
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Category: Comment Letter

CWC Comments to DOL Object to Proposal for Expanding White Collar Overtime Pay

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has filed written comments with the Department of Labor (DOL) objecting to its proposed rule that would substantially increase the salary test for white-collar overtime regulations. CWC’s comments question whether the proposal is needed and whether it exceeds DOL’s authority under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If finalized...
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Category: Labor Relations

NLRB, Brushing Off Employer Objections, Issues Expanded Joint Employer Rule

The Biden-appointed Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has issued a final rule redefining the standard for determining when two employers are considered a joint employer under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The new rule will make it much easier for a business to be found to be a joint employer of another company’s employees and...
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Category: Immigration

USCIS Proposes Revisions to the H-1B Visa Program

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a proposed rule to modernize the H-1B specialty occupation visa program. Its goal is to improve the program’s efficiency, provide more flexibility for both petitioners and beneficiaries, and reduce the potential for fraud. The proposal would change the registration selection process for H-1B...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

CWC Tells EEOC That Proposed PWFA Regulations Go Beyond Congressional Intent

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has filed written comments with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) about the EEOC’s proposed regulations to implement the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). While CWC supports many of the proposed provisions as consistent with the PWFA’s statutory language, CWC pointed out several provisions in...
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Category: Labor Relations

NLRB Issues Rule To Speed Up Union Representation Election Process

The Biden-appointed majority on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has issued a final rule intended to speed up union representation elections. The rule removes several time-consuming steps put in place by the Trump-era Board and is expected to benefit unions seeking representation by giving employers less time to dissuade workers from forming or joining a union. The new...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OSHA Issues Proposal To Reinstate Controversial “Union Walkaround Policy”

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed revising its regulations to expressly permit employees to designate third parties, such as labor union officials, to accompany OSHA compliance officers on walkaround inspections of an employer’s workplace. The proposal essentially seeks to reinstate an Obama Administration policy that was ruled unlawful because it was not adopted through...
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Category: Government Contracts

New Law Banning TikTok on Government Devices Is Impacting Federal Contractors

The “No TikTok on Government Devices Act”—which Congress passed in December as part of the omnibus spending bill—has compliance implications for federal contractors. A few weeks ago, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published an Interim Rule to implement the new law. The interim rule requires federal contracting agencies to insert into new contracts a clause prohibiting the contractor from...
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Category: FLSA

DOL Proposed Rule Would Make Millions of White Collar Workers Eligible for Overtime

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released its long-expected proposal to revise the regulations governing the minimum wage and overtime exemption for salaried employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposed rule would increase by nearly 55 percent the current salary threshold under which an otherwise exempt white collar worker would qualify for overtime pay. Specifically, the minimum...

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