On the heels of the exemption for Hurricane Harvey contractors, and given the additional widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Irma, the federal government has extended a deadline affecting federal contractors and subcontractors.

VETS-4212

The VETS-4212 report, which contractors must file annually between August 1 and September 30, has been extended this year for all contractors, regardless of location.  The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service posted on its website that contractors and subcontractors who file their VETS-4212 reports by November 15 will be considered timely.  This one-time, 45-day extension is due to the needs of those affected by the recent hurricanes.

HURRICANE IRMA NATIONAL INTEREST EXEMPTION FOR NEW CONTRACTS

As it did for Hurricane Harvey contractors previously, on September 7, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a another National Interest Exemption Memorandum providing a three-month exemption on preparing written affirmative action plans for a very specific group of contractors and subcontractors.

According to the FAQs, the exemption applies only to contractors who have signed or will sign a new supply and service or construction contract between September 1 and December 1, 2017, solely for the “specific purpose of providing Hurricane Irma relief” and who do not otherwise have to comply with the regulations.

Does this apply to everyone who has a contract to provide hurricane relief? 

No. The exemption applies only to those companies that become covered contractors by virtue of a new contract aimed solely at providing Irma relief.

Who is not covered?

Any contractor that is required to comply with the regulations based on a non-Irma relief contract (whether that contract be old or new).

As we have reported previously, the EEO-1 filing process is changing. The EEO-1 reports that would have been required by September 30, 2017, now do not have to be filed until March 31, 2018. The “catch” is that the new EEO-1 reports will require compensation data from a workforce “snapshot” taken between October 1 and December 31, 2017.

(The compensation data reporting ...

Roberts v. Clark County (NV) School District involved a female-to-male transgender police officer. Although the School District later changed its policy, when Bradley Roberts first told the District in 2011 that he was presenting as a male, he was told that he could not use the men's room until he submitted proof of gender reassignment surgery. But he wasn't allowed to use the ...

Last week, two lawsuits were filed in federal court in Texas seeking to block the Final Rule on white-collar exemptions to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was issued in May. Meanwhile, legislation that would delay the effective date of the rule until June 2017 just passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and there is other legislation pending in ...

Thanks to Law360 for alerting us to this!

Straight from the courthouse to you -- I haven't even read this yet, but here is a copy of the lawsuit, which was filed today in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas.

UPDATE (4:41 p.m. EDT): Here's another one, filed in the same court - this one is some trade groups and a slew of Chambers of Commerce in Texas!

  ...

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 ...

As of this week, we have a new challenge to an employer based on medical marijuana – this time, in Rhode Island.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit alleging that Darlington Fabrics Corporation discriminated against a candidate for a paid intern position because the candidate, Christine Callaghan, disclosed that she used medical marijuana for her ...