Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives voted to permanently block implementation of the Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces Rule, also known as the contractor “Blacklisting Rule.” With a 236-187 vote, the joint resolution disapproving the Rule easily passed in the House and will now head to the Senate.

As we discussed earlier this week, Congress can use the Congressional Review Act ...

Our new president has us all hopping . . .

Andrew Puzder's advocacy for franchises makes him a target. Dan Murphy and Jeff Rosin from our Franchise Industry Group talk about the Puzder nomination (he's President Trump's choice for Secretary of Labor) and the groups seeking to block his confirmation. As we've noted a couple of times this week, Mr. Puzder's confirmation hearing, most ...

President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch is still looking good to me. I've now read his famous (among law nerds, anyway) concurrence in Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Lynch, in which he criticizes the Chevron doctrine. (Judge Gorsuch also wrote the majority opinion in Gutierrez-Brizuela, but his concurrence starts at pdf page 15.)

The Chevron doctrine, from a 1984 U.S ...

It's Neil Gorsuch! President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court was Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. If you watched the announcement on TV last night, you already know about his impressive credentials. If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch will fill the vacancy created by the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia, and he'll be the first Supreme Court ...

In good news for federal contractors, Congress has taken its first step toward permanently blocking implementation of the Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces Rule, also known as the contractor “Blacklisting” Rule.  As we have discussed previously, the Rule (which includes regulations and guidance implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13673) requires ...

Must-see TV! President Trump said last night that he would be announcing at 8 p.m. EST tonight his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy that was created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. You have to hand it to the President for scheduling the announcement for prime time, when everyone can watch. Although I think it would be even better if he had all the candidates with him ...

Just a couple of quick links today:

Hot off the press - Will  Krasnow and Jeanette Phelan have an excellent summary of the immigration Executive Order issued on Friday by President Trump and what employers should tell their employees from the "suspended seven" countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen). The quick and dirty: Do NOT leave the United States!

And our ...

The confirmation hearing for Andrew Puzder, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, has been postponed yet again - now it's scheduled for Tuesday, February 7. According to the Washington Post, Mr. Puzder has submitted his paperwork to the Office of Government Ethics, which is reviewing it and has not yet turned it over to the Senate.

Meanwhile, it was reported this week that ...

Daily Trumpdates. Our new president has had a busy week, and I've been providing "Daily Trumpdates" of actions taken that are of interest to employers. Here are links to all the Trumpdates from this week:

MONDAY: Regulatory freeze, "listening session" with unions, Puzder status

TUESDAY: Good meeting with union reps

WEDNESDAY (twofer): The 4 known SCOTUS contenders

Victoria ...

How can an employer best prevent workplace harassment from occurring, and deal with it effectively when it occurs? What would the EEOC say employers should do?

This is my third and final installment on the proposed Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Harassment, which was recently issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC is accepting comments until ...