The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make it easier for non-employee representatives to participate in worksite inspections.
Continue Reading OSHA’s Walk-Around Proposal Could Open Workplace Inspections to Outsiders
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is expected to propose new rules on independent contractor classification and overtime entitlement requirements in the coming weeks. The proposals would alter the qualifications for certain employees to receive overtime payments under the Fair Labor Standards Act when they work in excess of 40 hours in one week.
Continue Reading Upcoming Proposed Changes to DOL’s Independent Contractor and Overtime Rules
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”), an agency within the Department of Labor, has recently announced two significant changes that will impact covered contractors and subcontractors in the coming months.
Continue Reading AAP Changes Ahead for Federal Contractors
On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) updated its guidance for employers in an effort to further protect workers from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (“COVID”). This update (the “Guidance”) reflects recent COVID developments, including the increased spread of the Delta variant and the July 27, 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) updated guidance, and is intended to help employers protect workers who are: unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, otherwise at-risk, and/or fully vaccinated but located in areas of substantial or high community transmission.
Continue Reading The U.S. Department of Labor Updates its Workplace COVID-19 Guidance to Protect Unvaccinated and Other At-Risk Workers
President Joseph R. Biden on April 12 nominated current Cal/OSHA Chief Doug Parker to lead federal OSHA. If confirmed, employers should prepare for the potential that California-style enforcement may reach the federal law.
Continue Reading Biden’s Nominee to Lead OSHA May Signal Increased Enforcement Scrutiny
On August 3, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down portions of the DOL’s Final Rule regarding who qualifies for COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, collectively referred to at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Of particular importance to employers, the Court invalidated two provisions of the DOL’s Final Rule pertaining to: (1) conditioning leave on the availability of work and (2) the need to obtain employer consent prior to taking leave on an intermittent basis.
Continue Reading Federal Court Strikes Down Portions of Department of Labor’s Final Rule On COVID-19 Leave, Expands Coverage
If 2017 is any indication, the new year will bring a fresh cascade of changes – both announced and unannounced, anticipated and unanticipated – in the business immigration landscape. Few, if any, of these changes are expected to be good news for U.S. businesses and the foreign workers they employ.
Continue Reading Buckle Your Seatbelts: 2018 Will Be a Watershed Year in Business Immigration
Recently, the New York Department of Labor released a set of proposed regulations affecting the Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations, which applies to most employers except hotels and restaurants.
Continue Reading New York Proposes Predictable Scheduling Regulations for Employees