Federal Agency Rulemaking

A proposed rule  published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on October 9, 2020 offers the possibility of expanded information-sharing with respondents/employers in connection with the agency’s conciliation efforts.  The proposed expanded disclosures may enhance the value of conciliation to those parties.
Continue Reading EEOC’s Proposed New Procedures May Enhance Value of Conciliation

Last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York invalidated portions of the Department of Labor’s Final Rule on joint employment, holding that parts of the Final Rule conflicted with the statutory language of the FLSA and chiding the DOL for failing to adequately explain why the Final Rule departed from the DOL’s own prior interpretations.
Continue Reading Court Invalidates DOL’s Final Rule On Joint Employment Under The FLSA

In light of recent announcements by the National Labor Relations Board about rulemaking initiatives, and favorable comments from Chairman John Ring on the issue, the time may be ripe for the filing and advancement of rulemaking petitions to the NLRB in order to bring more stability and predictability to NLRB law by codifying certain precedents and overturning others through rulemaking.
Continue Reading Navigating NLRB: Attacking Instability With APA Rulemaking

OSHA recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing modification to the current rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, “ which requires employers to electronically submit their injury and illness records to OSHA.  
Continue Reading OSHA Issues Proposed Rule Regarding Electronic Submission Requirements

Federal agencies need not go through the formal and drawn-out “notice-and-comment” process when altering an interpretation of a regulation. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association stated that the Administrative Procedure Act (the “APA”) does not mandate notice-and-comment rulemaking for interpretive rules.
Continue Reading The United States Supreme Court’s Decision in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association and its Potential Impacts on Federal Agencies’ Rulemaking Authority