Experts have estimated that it may cost as much as $180 billion to repair the damage done by Hurricane Harvey. With so much rebuilding to be done, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is temporarily waiving certain equal employment opportunity requirements to expedite Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The deputy director has the authority to waive any part of the EEO clause in a specific contract or group of contracts “when he deems that special circumstances in the national interest so require.” (Scroll down to section (b)(1).)
On August 31, the Deputy Director of the OFCCP issued a memorandum temporarily exempting contractors providing Hurricane Harvey relief assistance from developing written affirmative action programs. The exemption applies to the affirmative action programs required by Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. According to the memorandum, the EEO clauses in affected contracts may be modified to specify that “the contractor will not be obligated to develop the written affirmative action program required under the regulations implementing [EO11246, VEVRAA, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended].”
Although federal contractors providing Hurricane Harvey relief assistance will not have to develop written affirmative action programs, they will still be required to comply with other EEO requirements pertaining to record keeping, record retention, employment listings, and posting of the “Equal Opportunity is the Law” notice.
The affirmative action program exemption will last three months, but it may be extended “should special circumstances in the national interest so require.” Continue Reading ›
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the unopposed motion of
the U.S. Department of Labor to dismiss as moot the appeal in the “overtime case” of Nevada v. U.S. Department of Labor. The Fifth Circuit order brings that litigation to an end.
The DOL is expected to begin a new rulemaking process and is expected to propose increasing the salary thresholds for the executive, administrative, and (some) professional exemptions to the overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act — but not by nearly as much as they would have been increased under the Obama Administration rule that has been struck down. Continue Reading ›
Bloomberg BNA reported Friday evening that President Trump has nominated Cheryl Stanton of South Carolina as Administrator of the Wage Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Ms. Stanton is currently executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, which administers unemployment compensation for the state. She has been a shareholder with the management-side employment firm Ogletree Deakins twice, separated by a period in which she was the principal White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under former President George W. Bush. She is a 1994 graduate of Williams College, and a 1997 graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law. According to the Trump White House, she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Lots going on in the wage-hour area! The USDOL filed a motion to dismiss as moot its appeal of the preliminary injunction blocking the Obama-era overtime rule. Continue Reading ›
Our thoughts and prayers this holiday weekend go out to our friends and all the people of Texas and Louisiana who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey.
And our thanks to the heroic rescue personnel. Continue Reading ›
Just in time for Labor Day . . . Our favorite labor
commentator, David Phippen of our Washington DC-Metro Office, is his usual bad* self, with the latest of President Trump’s nominees and appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, a court’s “joint employer” decision that may indicate where the now-Republican Board will end up on this issue, the UAW defeat at Nissan in Mississippi, union-related scandals at the U.S. Postal Service and between Chrysler and the UAW, and — a pro-union vote at a chain of erotica shops in New York. (Leave it to David to make labor relations sexy.) Oh, and I almost forgot – a herd of goats taking union jobs in Michigan.
*By “bad,” I mean “awesome.” Continue Reading ›
I’m reading the decision as we speak, and we’ll be back soon with analysis from our Wage and Hour gurus, Jim Coleman and Ellen Kearns. But meanwhile, here is the Opinion and Order from U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant, and here is the Judgment.
The judge granted a motion for summary judgment filed by the business plaintiffs, a group led by the Plano (TX) Chamber of Commerce.
You may recall that Judge Mazzant’s preliminary injunction, issued last November, is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Image Credit: From flickr, Creative Commons license, by State Farm Insurance. Continue Reading ›
This is Constangy’s flagship law blog, founded in 2010 by Robin Shea, who is chief legal editor and a regular contributor. This nationally recognized blog also features posts from other Constangy attorneys in the areas of immigration, labor relations, and sports law, keeping HR professionals and employers informed about the latest legal trends.
