There is great rejoicing among federal contractors since a federal judge in Texas has preliminarily blocked the "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces" rules from going into effect. Absent the court's action, the rules would have taken effect for the largest contractors this past Tuesday, and for some smaller ones in 2017. The case is far from over, but this is a major interim victory ...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is only the latest in a string of federal agencies who've been sued recently in an effort to stop their regulations from taking effect.

We have the two lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Labor challenging the overtime rule that is scheduled to take effect on December 1 (argument in those cases will be heard November 16), the lawsuit that ...

Being part of the "in" crowd with the FBI apparently does not protect you from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

To the contrary: It was an FBI contract that subjected a California-based technology company to an OFCCP review that has resulted in an administrative complaint.

Palantir Technologies is a large government contractor with more than $340 ...

UPDATE (10/25/16): They did, they did! Judge Marcia Crone has issued a preliminary injunction against the Rule, which blocks it from going into effect. She agreed with the plaintiffs on just about every point (although she declined to block the paycheck transparency provisions). Here is a copy of the Order.

Many federal contractors are on the verge of having to ...

The last Retailer of 2016 is out! With Black Friday approaching, Toby Dykes of our Birmingham Office has a great feature on crowd dynamics and OSHA's guidance on how retail employers can keep their employees safe during the busiest shopping season of the year.

We also have graphics showing retailers' projected earnings and hiring plans for the holidays, and "bite-size ...

I'm a week late with this follow-up. (Sorry.)

Two weeks ago, I posted about an employee (fictionally named "Zoey") who had a peanut allergy. After she asked a peanut-butter-loving co-worker ("Addison") to be considerate, Zoey found a big glob of peanut butter smeared under her desk, which caused her to get sick. Addison denied being responsible.

To recap from last time:

*I said I ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has delayed for a second time the enforcement date of its new "Reasonable Reporting Procedure" rule as it pertains to post-accident drug testing and safety incentive programs. The new enforcement date for the rule is December 1.

The rule was scheduled to take effect on August 10, and then OSHA extended the ...

DISCLAIMER: The Boss in this blog post is fictional. Any similarity to actual bosses, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No bosses were harmed in the writing of this post. If you'd prefer something warmer and fuzzier, try this.

Hey, Underling:

On this Monday, October 17, 2016, I thought it would be an opportune time to let you know that your efforts are appreciated!

You ...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 23 North Carolina counties have been approved to receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Gov. Pat McCrory has directed the state Department of Employment Security not to enforce the one-week waiting period that normally applies to unemployment claims.

The eligible counties are as follows: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Columbus ...

As we knew it would, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has appealed the decision of Judge Sean Cox, who granted summary judgment to a Detroit-area funeral home chain in a transgender discrimination case. Here is my analysis of Judge Cox's decision.

The case will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which hears appeals from federal courts in Kentucky ...