The U.S. Department of Labor announced today its Final Rule implementing Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors. We are reviewing the Final Rule and will publish an Affirmative Action Alert with more details.

In the meantime, here are the highlights from the DOL’s Fact Sheet:

*Covered contractors are “nearly identical” to ...

The U.S. Department of Labor announced last week that covered federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to pay workers an hourly minimum wage of $10.20 an hour beginning January 1, 2017.  The minimum cash wage for tipped workers will increase to $6.80 an hour.

The annual increases are required by an Executive Order issued in February 2014, which mandates that ...

A recent complaint filed by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs illustrates that it's not only federal contractors who need to be sure they comply with affirmative action requirements, but also those who contract with the federal contractors - a.k.a. "subcontractors."

The OFCCP's allegations against Maryland construction subcontractor Potomac ...

The date for the U.S. Secretary of Labor to issue regulations establishing paid sick leave for covered employees of certain federal contractors is fast approaching.

By way of background, on September 7, 2015, President Obama signed Executive Order 13706, "Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors." The Executive Order requires certain federal contractors to provide ...

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 ...

To assist federal contractors in their compliance with the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order – which to date still has no final implementing regulations – the National Labor Relations Board has graciously offered to ensure that all unfair labor practice complaints involving federal contractors will be added to a federal database of "problem" employers.

As I've ...

Do you need a reason to monitor your hiring and keep good records? Here's one.

Alleging race discrimination in the hiring process, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has settled with a unit of Norfolk Southern for $492,000. The OFCCP claimed that there were statistically significant differences in the hiring rates of whites and African-Americans into laborer ...

Did you realize that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can sue you just for (allegedly) lousy recordkeeping?

No discrimination, no harassment, no retaliation -- just (alleged) failure to keep adequate records.

Well, it's true. Back in 2010, the agency was investigating whether Crothall Services Group's use of criminal background checks and criminal history in making ...

UPDATE (2/26/16): Cara Crotty's full analysis of the proposed rule -- plus video! -- is here. Read Cara instead of me.

The U.S. Department of Labor released today a proposed rule that would require federal contractors to provide at least seven paid sick days per year to their employees. The leave could be used for the employee's own illness, or for family care.

The proposed rule, which ...

This post is by Cara Crotty, co-chair of Constangy's Strategic Affirmative Action Practice Group.

Once again, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will ruin the holidays for thousands of federal contractors. The OFCCP announced last week that it plans to issue Courtesy Scheduling Announcement Letters, or CSALs, to 2,500 federal contractor establishments.

CSALs ...