Compliance Stuff

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) just released its 2024 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL), which identified 500 establishments of supply and service contractors that have been selected for an upcoming audit. Federal contractors and subcontractors should immediately examine the list, which was just released last Friday, to determine if one or more of your establishments have been identified for such an audit. This Insight explains how to find out if you’ve been selected, summarizes the scheduling methodology in more detail so you can learn why you were chosen, and provides a seven-step plan for responding. How Can We Find Out If We’ve Been Selected for Audit? You should immediately review the 2024 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL)  by clicking on this link and choosing “FY 2024 CSAL Supply & Service Scheduling List.” Doing so will generate an Excel document as a downloadable file, which contains the actual list. What Should Contr...

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) has released new proposed regulations regarding employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making systems that would affirm that the use of such technology in a way that discriminates against employees and job applicants based on protected characteristics is a substantive violation of California law. The California Civil Rights Department released new proposed regulations for employers’ use of AI and automated decision-making systems. The proposed regulations would affirm that employers’ use of such hiring technologies may violate the state’s antidiscrimination laws and clarify limits on the use of such technology in criminal background checks and medical/psychological inquiries. The proposed regulations would also clarify the scope of third-party liability arising from the use of AI tools. Written comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted by July 18, 2024. On May 17, 2024, the Civil Rights Council, a ...

The proper classification of employees as exempt or non-exempt is often at the root of wage and hour litigation, and there are many common misunderstandings about the subject. Below are some of the questions SLG attorneys most frequently receive about employee classification: Q: Are all salaried employees exempt? A: No! Although many use the word “salaried” as synonymous to “exempt,” the analysis is significantly more complicated. Most California exemptions require employees to be paid at least double minimum wage on a salary basis and to be primarily engaged in exempt duties, which are specifically defined for each exemption. Some exemptions have a higher salary threshold, such as certain physicians and computer professionals, and there are different rules for some commissioned salespeople. Q: Do California employers need to worry about the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently released Overtime Rule? A: Mostly likely no. Under the new Overtime Rule, effective July 1, 2024, the minimum ...

 For years, Department of Justice officials have stressed how important chief compliance officers are as the first line of defense in fighting corporate crimes. While that’s true, compliance programs now have a competitor in the DOJ itself . This article provides an overview of the DOJ’s new whistleblower rewards pilot program and the Criminal Division’s voluntary self-disclosure (VSD) pilot program for individuals, as well as their criteria to participate. This article further discusses what the real-world application of these pilot programs means for compliance programs. Expected to take effect later this year, the whistleblower rewards pilot program was first announced by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in March at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime event. In her remarks, DAG Monaco noted that the whistleblower rewards pilot program will expand the scope of other agencies’ whistleblower programs, including the Securities and Exchang...

 Introduction This is a follow-up to our May 9, 2023, alert regarding the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) which went into effect on June 27, 2023 . Congress required the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue regulations under the PWFA. The EEOC has done just that by issuing its final rule and interpretive guidance which goes into effect on June 18, 2024. This alert outlines employers’ duties under the new law, provides clarity on pregnant workers’ rights and protections, and guides employers on ways to minimize risk and liability under the PWFA. What is this law? Covered entities are required to make reasonable accommodations to qualified employees or applicants who have known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, absent an undue hardship to the business. Who is a covered employer or entity? The PWFA applies to both private and public sector employers that have 15 or more employees. It also applies to Congress, Federal a...

 As previously reported by the Fast Laner , employers with one or more employees in the City of Chicago that are subject to Chicago licensing requirements or that maintain a business facility within City limits, must meet the City’s annual anti-harassment training requirements. Among its requirements, the Ordinance requires the following annual training: All employees must participate in a minimum of one hour of sexual harassment prevention training . Supervisors and managers must participate in a minimum of two hours of sexual harassment prevention training. All employees must participate in one hour of bystander training. Compliance is required annually by June 30th. The City of Chicago has provided template sexual harassment prevention and bystander intervention training materials , which have been prepared both in English and in Spanish. Training materials can and should be tailored to meet the specific needs of employers, especially details relating to reporting mechanisms and...

FinCEN has learned of fraudulent attempts to solicit information from individuals and entities who may be subject to reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Scammers are on the hunt to steal sensitive and private information from individuals and entities who may be subject to reporting requirements under the CTA. The scams under the CTA fraud alert are letters and emails that impersonate IRS tax documents by using the fraudulent title of “Important Compliance Notice” and request the recipient of the correspondence to click a link or scan a QR code. The CTA Fraud Alert from FinCEN highlights fraudulent scams that may include: Correspondence requesting payment. There is NO fee to file BOI (Beneficial Ownership Information) directly with FinCEN. FinCEN does NOT send correspondence requesting payment to file BOI. Do not send money in response to any mailing that claims to be from FinCEN or another government agency. Correspondence that asks the recipient to click...

Employers who hire seasonal workers – those hired in short-term positions – need to be aware of which laws apply to these seasonal, temporary, and part-time workers. And this includes paid leave. Are they eligible for paid sick leave in those jurisdictions with paid sick leave laws? The answer depends on the details of the law in the jurisdiction where they work.  State Paid Sick Leave Laws and Seasonal Employees  Eighteen states — plus Washington, D.C. — have enacted paid sick leave laws.    Whether these paid leave laws apply to seasonal workers varies by jurisdiction. Under these laws, employers have several provisions of the law to examine.  First, the laws all have different waiting periods applicable before an employee may use accrued paid sick leave.   Second, the length of time the seasonal worker is employed may also determine whether an employee would effectively be able to utilize any paid sick leave accrued under the law. An employee hired for...

On August 6, 2019, New Jersey’s wage and hour laws were amended to include liquidated damages on some claims, a new retaliation cause of action, and expansion of the statute of limitations from two to six years (the “2019 amendments”).  Since then, litigants in New Jersey have struggled with the effect those amendments have had on their lawsuits.  One of the main points of confusion centered around whether the 2019 amendments applied retroactively to violations prior to August 6, 2019, or whether the changes applied prospectively only.   A significant conflict developed between federal and state courts on the retroactive application of the 2019 amendments. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently clarified this issue in Maia v. IEW Construction Group . In Maia, the plaintiffs represented a purported class of workers seeking to recover lost wages for pre-shift and post-shift work performed.   One of the plaintiffs began working for the defendant in April 2019, and as of ...

The National Labor Relations Board is appealing a Texas district court’s ruling that struck down the Board’s 2023 joint-employer rule as unlawfully overbroad. U.S. Chamber of  Commerce v. NLRB, No. 6:23-cv-00553-JCB (E.D. Tex. May 7, 2024). The rule sought to broaden the Board’s prior standard by finding two entities are joint employers when one entity possesses the authority to control at least one of seven enumerated essential terms and conditions of employment of the other entity’s employees, regardless of whether the first entity actually exercises that control. The Board is appealing the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Following the district court’s ruling, the U.S. Congress approved a resolution to reject the new rule, but President Joe Biden vetoed the resolution. The joint-employer analysis has significant implications for employers as, inter alia, it determines when one entity can be held liable for the other’s unfair labor practices and when ...

What do missing bolts on an airplane door and employer diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have in common? Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton is determined to link the two. Many DEI initiatives are lawful, and the AG’s initiative is a reminder to employers to ensure their DEI programs are carefully designed, documented, and implemented to comply with applicable law. AG Paxton Investigates AG Paxton on March 28, 2024, announced an investigation into a manufacturer of commercial airplane parts after a series of safety incidents that suggested manufacturing defects were to blame. As part of his probe into the incidents, AG Paxton requested the company turn over “documents related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion … commitments, and whether those commitments are unlawful or are compromising the company’s manufacturing processes.” AG Paxton requested meeting minutes of the company’s diversity and inclusion counsel; documents on which the company relies “to substantiate...

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Office of Labor Standards (COLS) recently posted updates to its website regarding minimum wage obligations, paid leave and paid sick and safe leave, new fair work week thresholds, and updated required labor notices. The compliance deadline for these obligations is July 1, 2024. Employers should carefully review these new rules and ensure new notices are posted, provided with employees’ first paychecks, and sent to employees by the July deadline. Minimum Wage – Effective July 1, 2024 General Minimum Wage A standard employer in Chicago with four or more employees must pay its employees a new minimum hourly wage of $16.20 (overtime minimum: $24.30). Hourly youth workers must receive $15.00 per hour (overtime: $22.50). Tipped Employees The new minimum hourly wage for tipped workers is $11.02 (overtime for tipped workers: $19.12). Youth tipped workers must receive a minimum hourly wage of $10.20 (overtime for tipped y...

Fearless Fund , which seeks to invest “in women of color-led businesses” and “bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color,” offered a contest to provide four businesses with $20,000 in funding and mentorship support. According to the Eleventh Circuit decision, the contest was only open to “‘black females who are  … legal U.S. residents’” or businesses that are at least 51 percent Black women-owned. Further, applicants had to agree to allow Fearless Fund to use their names, images, likenesses, and business ideas for promotional purposes and agree to arbitration, among other matters.  The American Alliance for Equal Rights (Alliance) filed a lawsuit alleging that it is a contract covered by  Section 1981 and that the contest, by its terms, violates Section 1981 because it excludes non-Black applicants based on their race. The case reached the Eleventh Circuit after a federal district court ruled that the Alliance had standing to bring suit but declined to ...

The recently implemented Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) requires that certain entities report information about themselves and their “beneficial ownership” to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the United States Department of the Treasury (FinCEN). Congress passed the CTA as a part of the worldwide effort to combat money laundering, tax evasion, and other illicit activities. The reporting requirements of the CTA mainly apply to smaller entities seen as having the highest risk of abuse because they are not otherwise subject to oversight. While there have been legal challenges to the CTA , FinCEN has indicated that it will continue to enforce the CTA while these challenges are ongoing. This Q&A addresses the potential impact that the CTA may have on estates and trusts, and will be helpful to settlors, trustees, executors, and beneficiaries of trusts, as it outlines their basic duties under the CTA. Q: Do I need to be worried about the CTA and reporting information t...

 On May 14, 2024 the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) published guidance on Discrimination and Out-of-State Remote Workers. This guidance , which is not legally binding, aims to clarify the DCR’s position on how the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) applies to all workers who are employed by New Jersey-based companies, including remote workers.   The LAD prohibits New Jersey employers from discriminating based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, disability, and other protected characteristics. While the general protections and prohibitions under the LAD have long existed, the COVID-19 pandemic and related rise in hybrid and remote working arrangements raised questions as to how the LAD applies to remote workers.  Most notably, the guidance highlights that the definitions of a covered “person” under the LAD...