The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently published a final rule on the definition of “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on January 9, 2024. This rule introduces a six-factor “economic realities” test, replacing the 2021 rule and aiming to bring clarity to the classification of workers as independent contractors or employees.
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USDOL Finalizes Right of First Refusal Regulation for Federal Contractors
On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule that restricts federal contractors in who they can employ when carrying out federal service contracts under the Service Contract Act (SCA). …
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Biden’s AI Order and the Implications for Employers
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued a wide-ranging Executive Order to address the development of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the U.S. Entitled the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, the Order seeks to address both the “myriad benefits” as well as what it calls the “substantial risks” that AI poses to the country. It caps off a busy year for the Executive Branch in the AI space. In February the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its Strategic Enforcement Plan highlighted AI as a chief concern and in April the White House released an AI Bill of Rights. Through the Order, described as a “Federal Government-wide” effort, the administration charges a number of federal agencies, including most notably, the Department of Labor, with addressing the impacts of employers’ use of AI on job security and workers’ rights. …
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Federal Contractor Minimum Wage in Flux
In April 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14026, which increased the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15.00 per hour for contracts under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. The U.S. Department of Labor subsequently issued a final rule implementing the Executive Order, and the new $15.00 minimum wage for federal contractors took effect in January 2022, with annual increases thereafter. …
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OSHA Launches New National Emphasis Program Focused on Preventing Workplace Falls
On May 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched a new National Emphasis Program (“NEP”) to prevent or otherwise reduce workplace falls (the “Fall NEP”). …
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DOL’S Final Rule Gives ERISA Fiduciaries Green Light to Consider ESG Factors When Selecting Investments
On November 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a final rule (the “2022 Final Rule”) that allows plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors when selecting retirement investments and exercising shareholder rights, such as proxy voting, for ERISA-governed plans.
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Upcoming Proposed Changes to DOL’s Independent Contractor and Overtime Rules
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.
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DOL Updates OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program
On September 15, 2022, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced an update to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (“OSHA”) Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”). …
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DOL Proposes Updates to Independent Contractor Requirements
Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published in the Federal Register its newly-proposed rule regarding independent contractor vs. employee classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or the “Act”). Businesses have anticipated the release of this proposed rule from the Biden administration’s DOL since the DOL withdrew a more employer-friendly, Trump-era independent contractor rule in May 2021 that had not yet gone into effect.Continue Reading DOL Proposes Updates to Independent Contractor Requirements
DOL, NLRB Will Collaborate on Investigations, Share Information
The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division and the National Labor Relations Board released a Memo of Understanding announcing that the two agencies will be collaborating “to strengthen the agencies’ partnership through greater coordination in information sharing, joint investigations and enforcement activity, training, education, and outreach.” The MOU took effect upon both agencies’ approval in early December and will remain in effect for five years.
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