Insights

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Category: ADA

CWC’s Updated ADA Reasonable Accommodation Compliance Guide

CWC presents an updated guide covering the reasonable accommodation requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our ADA Reasonable Accommodation Compliance Guide answers questions that could arise during the interactive process laid out in guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC). ADA charges filed with the EEOC have increased steadily, and the EEOC’s enforcement data show that disability discrimination charges...
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Category: Executive Order

Biden’s New “Good Jobs” E.O.: Another Version of Union-Friendly “High Road”

President Biden has issued Executive Order 14126, which will require designated federal agencies to consider an employer’s labor and employment practices when awarding federal financial assistance under several recent laws. The E.O. applies to the selection of projects by “implementing agencies” for entities receiving “federal financial assistance” from the “Investing in America agenda.” By limiting coverage to grants, loans, and...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP Agrees to First Nationwide ERCA Since Beginning of Biden Administration

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has signed an Early Resolution Conciliation Agreement (ERCA) with State Street Corporation that includes an audit moratorium on the contractor’s establishments nationwide. Although ERCAs granting a multi-year moratorium on establishment audits were common during the previous administration, this is the first ERCA of which we are aware during the Biden...
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Category: Compensation

Private Right of Action Fuels Pay Transparency Litigation in Washington State

Washington state’s pay transparency law has generated a lot of litigation against employers since it took effect in 2023. Unlike most other state pay transparency laws, Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) contains a private right of action that permits employees and job applicants to sue employers for alleged infractions. Based on the impact of the controversial Washington law...
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Category: Government Contracts

CWC’s Updated Primer on the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Act

In light of data showing increasing drug use among full-time employees in recent years, CWC thought it would be prudent to remind our members that the 1988 Drug-Free Workplace Act (DFWA) obligates covered federal contractors to provide a drug-free workplace. Therefore, we updated our DFWA primer to explain the DFWA’s coverage, contractors’ obligations, and penalties for noncompliance. The DFWA applies...
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

What’s the “Dismantle DEI Act,” and How Would It Impact Corporate DEI Efforts?

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) has introduced legislation—the “Dismantle DEI Act” (S. 4516)—that would affect corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices. S. 4516 would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding a definition of “prohibited diversity, equity, or inclusion practice.” The bill would add “ethnicity” to the Civil Rights Act’s list of protected bases and...
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

Responding to Item 21 on the OFCCP Scheduling Letter’s Itemized Listing

In the year since the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) began using a more burdensome Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing to notify federal contractors of an upcoming compliance evaluation, Item 21 on the Itemized Listing has generated confusion. Item 21 asks the contractor to identify and document “policies, practices, or systems used to recruit, screen, and...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL and NLRB Commit To Further Assist Antitrust Agencies in Merger Investigations

The Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government’s antitrust enforcement agencies, committing to share information that could help in investigations of allegedly anticompetitive merger acquisitions. The MOU with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), formally called the Memorandum of Understanding on...
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Category: FLSA

Fifth Circuit Vacates DOL’s “80/20 Rule” for Paying Tipped Workers

A federal appeals court has thrown out the Biden Administration’s “80/20 Rule” rule governing the payment of tipped employees, finding it contrary to the language of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated the rule on August 23,...
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Category: State and Local Law

CWC Interstate: August 2024 Update

This Interstate memo covers state developments since July, including: California: Assembly Bill 2288/Senate Bill 92 amends the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Illinois: SB 3649 effectively bans captive audience meetings. Illinois: HB 3773 clarifies that employers may not use artificial intelligence (AI) that discriminates based on protected characteristics and that employers must notify applicants and employees before using AI in employment-related decisions. Illinois: H.B....

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