Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor has submitted a proposed rule on the white-collar FLSA overtime exemptions to the federal Office of Management and Budget, which means that the proposed revisions to the overtime regulations could be made public before long.

Although the specifics are not known at this time, the proposed rule is ...

Employers can hope, but that doesn't necessarily mean change.

Tuesday night's Republican rout in the midterm elections was big news, but is it much ado about nothing from an employer's standpoint? Here are a few reasons not to become too giddy (if you were happy about the outcome) or too depressed (if you weren't):

1. Although the GOP will have control of the Senate, it does not have the 60 senators needed to override a presidential veto. So, even though House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), presumably the next Senate majority leader, are saying they'll work to repeal or partially roll back the Affordable Care Act, expect to see an actual vote that is largely symbolic. The President is expected to veto any but the most incremental legislation, and the Republicans won't be able to do anything about it unless they can find six moderate Democrats to join them. Are there any moderate Democrats left after Tuesday?

ROBIN'S NOTE: Thanks very much to Cara Crotty, head of our Affirmative Action practice group, who allowed me to share her insights about the President's Executive Order here on the blog. This will also be going out today via email as a Constangy Affirmative Action Alert. 

More than two years after expressly declining to do so, this past Monday, President Obama signed an Executive Order

This morning President Obama signed an Executive Order amending the 1965 Executive Order 11246. President Obama's EO prohibits discrimination and requires affirmative action by federal contractors based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (It isn't clear what the affirmative action obligation will mean.)

The President's EO also makes corresponding amendments to ...

Now that the Supreme Court has decided that the retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act apply, not only to employees of publicly-held companies, but also to employees of contractors who do work for publicly-held companies, I thought it might be helpful to review exactly what type of activity is protected under the SOX. To keep you awake, I'll address this in "FAQ" format ...

(Please note: This week's "Friday" post is up a day early because our platform is getting a system upgrade beginning tomorrow and through the weekend. The blog will be available for viewing, but we will not be able to post anything new until Monday. So if you submit a comment after today and don't see it right away, please don't worry - we will have it up the first of next week. Thank you for your ...

Are you in retail, fashion, or marketing, and getting ready to reject a job candidate because he or she doesn't have the "look" you want?

You might want to look before you leap. Or before you have to go to trial in front of a California jury against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The apparel chain Abercrombie & Fitch is learning that the hard way.

Abercrombie was sued a while ago ...

Five quick ones from the harassment world, plus a "bonus track" involving our old friends Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer.

This is sexual harassment? On what planet? Employment Law360 (paid subscription required) reports that a court in California is allowing the sexual harassment claim of model Lanisha Cole from The Price Is Right to go to trial in May. According to Ms. Cole, the ...

By David Phippen, Fairfax Office

UPDATE: David's client bulletin analyzing the D.C. Circuit's Noel Canning decision is available here.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down today the "recess appointments" of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board. Without Members Block and Griffin, most of the Board decisions ...

Well! OK!

It's been an interesting week, hasn't it? Congratulations to President Obama on winning a second term. My Election 2012 coverage would not be complete without some labor and employment prognostications for Obama Administration II.*

*Please do not read these again in 2016 to see how accurate I was. I don't want to be known as the Dick Morris of employment law bloggers.