The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced that the annual hiring benchmark under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act has been lowered from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent. This percentage represents the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force, which has decreased each year since 2014, when the OFCCP began requiring the ...

As we reported early this morning, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana that the prohibition in Title VII against discrimination based on “sex” encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is the first federal appellate court to do so, although recent decisions from other federal appeals ...

DEAR READERS: Before you accuse me of legal malpractice, take a look at tomorrow's date.  

Habit 1: Discriminate, retaliate, harass -- have a ball! There's a new sheriff in town, with a more employer-friendly, compliance-assistance-oriented U.S. Department of Labor (we think) and the nullification of burdensome regulations like the gone-and-not-lamented Fair Pay and Safe ...

Two big developments of interest to employers:

The Senate Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the nomination of Alex Acosta, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, in a 12-11 straight party-line vote. This means that Mr. Acosta's nomination will be voted on by the full Senate. According to The Washington Post, no date has yet been set for the Senate vote.

A "print and save" for California employers, to be sure. Richard Bromley and Aaron Rutschman of our Los Angeles-Century City Office have a comprehensive guide to the Golden State's often-confusing laws on paid meal and rest breaks. If you have operations in California, you need to read this and keep a copy for future reference.

The March 2017 edition of ConstangyTV's Close-Up on ...

The North Carolina General Assembly voted today to repeal the infamous HB 2 "bathroom law," and Governor Roy Cooper has signed the repeal into law. The law is very short. It repeals HB 2 and provides that local governments, and the state university and community college systems, cannot regulate access to multi-user restrooms, locker rooms, or changing facilities until ...

Game Over. Dunzo. Finito. Bye Felicia. These are things we can now officially say about the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule.

On Monday, President Trump signed a Congressional joint resolution of disapproval into law, officially invalidating the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule. Congress legislatively vetoed the Rule by using the Congressional Review Act, its new favorite tool ...

It was a bleak and frigid night on I-88 somewhere in northern Illinois. The icy wind whipped across the flatlands, grazing the endless rows of white, brittle remains of last year's corn crop. The only place to be that night was in your house, wrapped in your Snuggie, with a warm glass of brandy, watching videos of past vacations at Daytona Beach.

Alphonse Maddin knew he had to deliver ...

Franchisors received some encouraging news this week from President Trump's Acting Solicitor General, Nicholas Geale. Mr. Geale says that he prefers not to bring enforcement actions based on a theory that franchisors and franchisees are "joint employers." He also said that he hopes the U.S. Department of Labor will focus on helping employers to comply with the law and less on ...

Louise Davies is an Affirmative Action Paralegal in Constangy's Winston-Salem, North Carolina, office. For more than 15 years, she has helped employers develop affirmative action plans and respond to audits and on-site investigations by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. She also conducts diversity training for employers. Louise is a graduate of Wesleyan ...