In less than two months, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. President-elect Trump has already announced that he will nominate Republican Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his pick to serve as the next Secretary of the Department of Labor (“DOL”). It remains to be seen if the Trump DOL will continue the current administration’s targeting of the healthcare industry.Continue Reading Will the Trump Labor Department Continue the Current Sharp Focus on the Healthcare Industry?

On November 15th, Judge Sean Jordan of the Eastern District of Texas halted a 2024 Department of Labor (“DOL”) Final Rule (“2024 Rule”) that massively increased salary requirements for employees classified as “exempt” from the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). If implemented, the 2024 Rule would have reclassified untold millions of employees as “non-exempt” from the FLSA—making them eligible for overtime pay. Judge Jordan’s sweeping, 62-page ruling vacated the 2024 Rule nationally for all employers. While the DOL may appeal, it is unlikely the forthcoming Trump administration will defend the 2024 Rule. Judge Jordan’s ruling is a massive win for employers everywhere and leaves questions about the scope of the DOL’s authority to increase salary thresholds for FLSA exemptions moving forward.Continue Reading It’s Over for Overtime Expansion: Texas Court Axes DOL Rule That Would Have Reclassified Millions of Employees as Overtime Eligible

The election is over and a second Trump administration will begin in January 2025 (“Trump Administration”). Numerous changes to the employment law landscape will come with it. And if past is prologue, many of these changes will roll back various Biden-era initiatives and priorities at the various federal agencies tasked with implementing and administering federal law governing the employer/employee relationship. Below is a summary of just some of the changes employers could expect at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Commission”), Department of Labor (“DOL”), and National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) during the Trump Administration, as well as what employers could expect to see with respect to the federal government’s efforts to prohibit certain restrictive covenants.Continue Reading In With the “Old,” Out With the “New”: Second Trump Administration Will Usher in Significant Changes at the EEOC, DOL and NLRB

On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published its Final Rule clarifying the rights of employees to designate a non-employee representative to be present during workplace inspections. Notably, the designated non-employee representative may “accompany” the OSHA investigator during the physical walkaround portion of the inspection but may not “participate” in the inspection. The Final Rule will become effective May 31, 2024.Continue Reading OSHA Issues Final Rule Clarifying an Employee’s Ability to Have a Non-Employee Representative Present During Inspection

Federal law establishes minimum wage and overtime requirements for non-exempt employees. These rules do not apply to individuals who qualify under the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”). Individuals only qualify as exempt if they meet specified requirements that include a salary level test, among other rules.Continue Reading New DOL Exemption Rule Requires Two-Step Salary Increases Under FLSA for Exempt Employees

On March 31, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) rescinded a Trump Administration rule that provided a faith-based carve-out exempting federal contractors from compliance with certain anti-discrimination obligations. Federal law has long recognized a religious exemption to anti-discrimination obligations for federal contractors. The Trump Administration rule, which went into effect on January 8, 2021, expanded this faith-based carve-out. The rescission of the 2021 rule, which was published in the Federal Register on March 1, returns OFCCP to its pre-2021 religious exemption rule.Continue Reading Rescinding a Lame Duck Trump Administration Rule, DOL Returns to Its Longstanding Policy on Religious Exemptions for Federal Contractors

On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its proposed rule regarding the classification of employees and independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in an attempt to resolve inconsistent analyses amongst the Federal Courts of Appeals. The proposed rule would return to a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis of the “Economic Reality Test” (with a few modifications), which would have the effect of making it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors.Continue Reading The Haunting Return of the Economic Reality Test: U.S. Department of Labor Proposes Resurrecting the Pre-Trump Era Employee/Independent Contractor Test

On March 11, 2022, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed reverting the definition of “prevailing wage” under the Davis-Bacon Act to a definition used over 40 years ago. According to the DOL, the proposal is meant to modernize the law and “reflect better the needs of workers in the construction industry and planned federal construction investments.”[1]
Continue Reading Turning Back the Clock: DOL Proposes Previous Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Definition

On December 17, 2021, in a “Friday Night Surprise” the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the Stay on the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS).  This seminal ETS applies to employers with 100 or more employees and requires that employees be either (1) vaccinated; or (2) weekly tested and fully masked if unvaccinated.  While it is anticipated that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether the ETS stands, OSHA has already stated that they will begin enforcement of the ETS in January 2022.  Specifically, OSHA will enforce all requirements except testing for unvaccinated employees beginning January 10, 2022, and enforcement related to testing will begin February 9, 2022.
Continue Reading OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide

On November 4, 2021, in response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”).  You can read our prior article about the ETS here.  Generally, the ETS mandates all employers with 100 or more employees to require employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.  The ETS was immediately halted when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay.  Then, numerous lawsuits were filed across the nation, and actions were pending in each of the other Circuit Courts.  The Sixth Circuit “won” the multidistrict lottery, and was selected to hear the combined challenges, including OSHA’s emergency motion to dissolve the stay.  You can read our prior article about the temporary stay here.
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Reinstates OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard for Private Employers Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations or Weekly Testing

On November 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its much-anticipated mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule (“the Rule”).  The Rule requires employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate covered employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or require covered employees that are not fully vaccinated to test for COVID-19 at least weekly and wear a face covering.  The Rule went into effect immediately on November 5 with employers expected to comply by no later than January 4, but implementation has since been halted due to pending legal challenges.  For more information of the Rule requirements and specifics, see our prior article It’s Here: OSHA’s Rule Mandating COVID Vaccinations or Weekly Testing for Employers.
Continue Reading Challenged – OSHA’s Rule Mandating COVID Vaccinations or Weekly Testing for Employers Halted