Compliance Stuff

Here are the top 10 workplace compliance items you should tackle in May 2026, based on the latest labor and employment law updates:   _____ Equip yourself to respond to employee crises.  Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s a good time to train your managers and HR department on how to respond to serious and sensitive situations in the workplace.  These eight practical steps  can help your business support your employees and meet legal obligations. _____ Catch up on the DOL’s new joint employer proposal.  The DOL just proposed a new rule to give businesses greater clarity and reduced liability around joint employer status under federal wage and hour law. Here’s a  comprehensive look at the proposal , plus industry-specific snapshots for  staffing firms  and t ech employers . _____ Shore up your workplace policies for summertime.  Whether the sunny season is a slower period or your busiest time of year, it can expose your business ...

Some federal contractors will need to ensure compliance with a new $13.65 minimum wage that takes effect on May 11 for contracts covered by the Obama-era Executive Order 13658. But the new rate will apply only to a narrow group of contracts entered into before January 30, 2022 . What does this mean for federal contract compliance? Here’s an overview of your continuing obligations and a few steps you should consider taking now. What Happened? President Obama’s 2014 Executive Order 13658 established a minimum wage – including annual adjustments – for covered employees of federal contractors. The minimum rate under that order is currently $13.30 per hour ($9.30 for covered tipped employees). The DOL  announced on February 9  that it’s raising the rate to $13.65 an hour (and $9.55 for tipped employees). The increase was an expected annual adjustment under Executive Order 13658, and the Department of Labor (DOL) noted that the new rate will apply only to certain contracts entered i...

In a ruling significant to federal contractors and government transparency advocates alike, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a district court order requiring the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to disclose thousands of EEO-1 Type 2 (consolidated) reports submitted by federal contractors, rejecting the agency’s attempt to withhold the reports under the Freedom of Information Act’s (FOIA) Exemption 4. Quick Hits The Ninth Circuit ruled that EEO-1 Type 2 workforce demographic data is not protected “commercial” information under FOIA Exemption 4 and must be disclosed. For contractors that objected, contending the reports contained confidential commercial information, the reports are now likely subject to disclosure; the court did not address other objections based on contractor status or jurisdiction. The decision applies only to historical reports submitted to the DOL from 2016 to 2020 in response to FOIA requests by the Center for Investigative Reporting, but t...

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is slated to publish, on July 7, 2025, an information collection request seeking comments relating to complaints involving employment discrimination by federal contractors or subcontractors. Quick Hits OFCCP is seeking comments on changes to the complaint form for employment discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors. The proposed changes are requested to update the complaint form to comport with changes brought by Executive Order 14173. OFCCP is seeking approval to revise the Complaint of Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor form (CC-4) and the Pre-Complaint Inquiry for Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor form (CC-390 ) to remove items related to Executive Order (EO) 11246 . Because of  EO 14173 , applicants and employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, authorized representatives, or third p...