Insights

August 01, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

OFCCP Issues New Directive on “Expedited Conciliation Procedures”

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a new Directive 2024-01, “Expedited Conciliation Procedures,” that outlines the process that the agency will follow when offering an expedited conciliation option to a federal contractor that is under review. OFCCP’s 2023 rule on Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures details the “expedited conciliation option.” While Directive 2024-01 formally rescinds...
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July 31, 2024
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Ninth Circuit Rules That §1981 Prohibits Hiring Discrimination Based on U.S. Citizenship Status

The Civil Rights Act of 1866—commonly referred to as Section 1981—not only protects against intentional race discrimination but also against hiring discrimination based on U.S. citizenship, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held June 27, 2024, in Rajaram v. Meta Platforms. Section 1981 provides that “all persons” within U.S. jurisdiction “shall have the same right … to...
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July 31, 2024
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Category: Government Contracts

USDA Once Again Abandons Attempt To Add “Blacklisting” Provisions to Its Procurement Regs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed revisions to its procurement regulations similar to those it proposed two years ago, but this time there are no blacklisting provisions. Two years ago, the USDA’s proposal to update its procurement procedures included controversial provisions that would have required USDA contractors to certify compliance with all applicable labor laws. It also would...
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July 30, 2024
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Category: Regulatory Guidance/Interpretation

New Guidance From CFPB Asserts Confidentiality Agreements Can Violate Whistleblower Laws

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued guidance stating that broadly-worded confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) may violate federal whistleblower laws by unlawfully deterring employees from exercising their whistleblower rights. Employers that require employees and former employees to sign broad confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements in return for a separation agreement or continued employment risk being found in violation of...
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July 24, 2024
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

EEOC COVID Vaccine Settlement Highlights Risk in Questioning Employees’ Religious Beliefs

A recent settlement involving an employer and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) illustrates the potential risk for an employer that questions whether an employee who asks for a religious accommodation has sincere religious beliefs. The settlement agreement in EEOC v. Hank’s Furniture, (N.D. Fla. July 15, 2024), prohibits the employer from concluding that any religious belief is not sincere because the...
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July 24, 2024
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Category: Affirmative Action and Diversity

CWC Urges OMB To Ameliorate Burden Imposed by OFCCP’s Construction Contractor Letter

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) has submitted comments to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to a request from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) for authorization to use an expanded version of the construction contractor scheduling letter and itemized listing that the agency uses to notify construction contractors of a compliance...
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July 23, 2024
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Category: Data and Statistics

2023 Time Use Survey Shows Gap Closing Between At-Home Work Done by Male and Female Workers

The government’s latest American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which covers calendar year 2023, shows that full-time male employees are catching up to full-time female employees in the time they spend working from home on an average day. While the percentage difference in female FTEs compared with male FTEs working at home was reported as just over 12% in 2022, in...
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July 23, 2024
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Category: Supreme Court

Supreme Court Lengthens Timeline for Suing Federal Agencies

An entity may be able to challenge a federal regulation years after it is issued, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled July 1 in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Court ruled 6 to 3 that the six-year statute of limitations for challenging a federal agency action begins to run from the date when the...
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July 18, 2024
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Category: Compliance Reporting and Recordkeeping

OFCCP Submits Formal Request to OMB To Reinstate Burdensome Construction Contractor Report

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has submitted a formal request to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reinstate the burdensome Utilization Report (Form CC-257). The report will require covered construction contractors and subcontractors to collect and report headcount and work hours data by race, ethnicity, sex, and construction trade on a...
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July 17, 2024
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Category: Labor Relations

Fifth Circuit Rules NLRB Erred in Changing Employee Misconduct Standard

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violated an employer’s due process rights by reinstating a worker-friendly misconduct standard without giving the employer an opportunity to express its views. The court’s July 9 ruling in Lion Elastomers, L.L.C. v. NLRB ordered the NLRB to set aside a standard that considered...
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