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.

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 ...

Two Trumpian developments of interest to employers will occur on March 15, next Wednesday:

Alex Acosta's confirmation hearing is scheduled to take place that day. Mr. Acosta is President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, and is expected to have relatively smooth sailing. On the other hand, is there anything that has been "smooth" about the President's first months in office?

A ...

The employment law week in Trumpland started out a little slow, but now we're back in business.

Acosta looking good for confirmation as Secretary of Labor. In contrast to nominee Andrew Puzder, the outlook appears good for his successor nominee Alexander Acosta. Mr. Acosta seems to have bipartisan support in the Senate, and has even been endorsed by the International Union of ...

President Trump's new nominee for Secretary of Labor is R. Alexander Acosta, dean of the law school of Florida International University in Miami. Before he became a law school dean, Mr. Acosta's experience included heading the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under President George W. Bush. He was also a member of the National Labor Relations Board for about eight ...

The confirmation hearing for Andrew Puzder, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, is supposed to take place tomorrow. While we wait to see what happens, I thought it might be fun to open a comment thread so we can opine about the issues that have been raised against him. Do you think they're legitimate? Do you think he's a good choice for Secretary of Labor, or a ...

Yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the Trump Administration's motion to stay the temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Seattle. This means that the TRO, which blocks the temporary travel ban from taking effect, will remain in place. The Administration may seek review by all of the judges on the Ninth Circuit or by the U.S. Supreme ...

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 ...

Dum-da-dum-dum!

Bloomberg BNA reports that the U.S. Department of Labor, which is the defendant in a lawsuit challenging the rule regarding white-collar exemptions to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, has asked for an extension of time to allow "incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues."

You know what that means.

The ...

President Trump announced yesterday that he would be naming his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court next week. The nominee, if confirmed, will fill the seat vacated by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

According to most news sources, the three leading contenders are U.S. Court of Appeals Judges William Pryor (Eleventh Circuit), Neil Gorsuch (Tenth Circuit), and Thomas Hardiman ...