Labor & Employment

On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) withdrew an opinion letter that had previously provided guidance on when certain businesses may classify workers as independent contractors under federal wage and hour laws. Opinion letter FLSA 2019-6, issued in 2019 during the Trump Administration, had given employers a...

The Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program—commonly known as the “8(a) Program”—provides participating small businesses with training, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities in the form of set-aside and sole-source awards. The SBA administers the 8(a) Program.  Eligibility for the program is generally limited to small businesses “unconditionally owned and controlled by one...

There is little doubt that the Biden Administration will pursue policy changes that will have a noticeable impact on the business and legal communities. While some policy changes will be industry sector-specific (the Keystone XL pipeline is a good example), there are some overarching policy areas that will likely see changes that will have...

On December 15, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously to approve the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (Bill 23-494) (the “Act”), which would ban the use of non-compete provisions in employment agreements and workplace policies for all employees, with a few narrow exceptions. If enacted, Washington, DC will have...

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces Executive Order 11246, which applies to federal contractors and subcontractors and explicitly prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin. Accordingly, religious discrimination by contractors against applicants and employees, including the failure to provide a reasonable religious...

On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 Technical Assistance Questions and Answers to address the legal implications when mandating the COVID-19 vaccination. We previously wrote about the key takeaways from that guidance here. As COVID-19 vaccination distribution begins, employers have critical decisions to make about their vaccination policies....