The implications for employers of the momentous Supreme Court rulings are the subject of the latest episode. David, Nita, and Burt discuss the impact of the abortion, environment, and religious freedom decisions on employee health plans, travel benefits, Title VII protections, the diminished role of federal regulation of the workplace, and broadly expanded religious exercise rights for employees.

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This year has featured major equal pay settlements, including Google’s recent $118 million settlement with female employees.  FortneyScott attorneys Nita Beecher and Savanna Shuntich talk us through some of the biggest settlements and why listeners should be paying attention.  They round out their discussion with an analysis of the new trend in state pay transparency laws.

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With a divided and often resistant Congress, many expected the Federal agencies to aggressively implement the Biden Administration’s agenda.  However, the results to date are mixed.  

David, Burt, and Nita review the latest from the NLRB, EEOC, OFCCP, Wage and Hour, the new DOJ criminal investigation of employment practices, and the implementation of the USMCA international labor penalties by USTR and DOL.  The DC Insiders discuss the latest on nominations and rulemaking hurdles, and what to expect from the agencies in the coming months.

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The first oversight hearing of the Biden Administration’s EEOC and OFCCP was held by the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services.  FortneyScott attorney Savanna Shuntich attended the hearing and reports on the most significant developments. Then, based on the issues raised during the hearing, David, Burt, and Nita discuss what to expect from EEOC once (if) the third Democratic Commissioner is confirmed and the impact on both the EEOC and OFCCP if the Republicans win the House in the upcoming midterm elections. 

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OFCCP in the past several weeks has finally revised its compliance procedure in the way we expected of the Biden Administration.  Our last episode discussed the agency’s new directive on compliance.  This week, David, Nita, and FS Attorney Liz Bradley discuss OFCCP’s other new initiatives: opening the Contractor Portal for certification, the directive on compliance evaluations, and revising predetermination notice/notice of violation rules.

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David, Nita, and Burt focused on the Biden Administration’s pay equity initiatives rolled out on Equal Pay Day (March 15th).  The requirements of OFCCP’s new compensation directive and its possible impact on contractors’ certification was the primary discussion.  In addition, the three also reviewed EEOC Chair Burrows’ outline of the agency’s achievements regarding pay discrimination over the past 5 years. 

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The historically broad and coordinated efforts by many NUMEROUS Federal agencies under the Biden Administration to support workers’ rights and union organizing are discussed by Nita, David, and Burt.  A special focus is the integrated actions of agencies not usually involved in workplace matters, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Treasury, Department of Justice, and even Agriculture, especially on compliance and anti-competitive and anti-trust issues impacting vulnerable workers.

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The DOL’s Wage & Hour Division has been re-making itself to reflect Pres. Biden’s “pro-worker” agenda.  Join Burt, and W&H specialists Liz Bradley and John Clifford in their discussion of new initiatives to impose Project Labor Agreements, expand and enforce the Davis-Bacon Act, re-write regulations defining independent contractors, AND make sense of the leadership vacuum at the Division.

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The role of affirmative action is being hotly debated, and employers likely will need to revamp their traditional affirmative action programs.  Join David, Nita, and Burt in their discussion of the evolving social and political responses to President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, the pending challenges to affirmative action in higher ed before the Supreme Court, and the impact these developments will have on employers’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.

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As focus turns from a stalled Congress, DC Insiders David, Nita, and Burt examine how the workplace enforcement agencies -- Wage & Hour, NLRB, OFCCP, and EEOC -- are coordinating their efforts to achieve the Biden pro-worker agenda. The panel will discuss the growing alliance between the NLRB and Wage & Hour on joint employer and independent contractor regulations, as well as the MOU on joint investigations; the increased cooperation between EEOC and OFCCP on the HIRE initiative; and the Administration-wide initiative to address retaliation in the workplace. Also reviewed is the OFCCP’s Verification Portal, scheduled to open on February 1, and contractors’ compliance responsibilities.

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Thank you for listening!
https://www.fortneyscott.com/