Jessica Abrahams, Author at Laborsphere

DOT Issues Emergency Rule Limiting Commercial Driver’s Licenses for Foreign Nationals

At a Glance

Nondomiciled drivers applying for or renewing their CDL/CLP must provide an unexpired I-94 record indicating one of three specific employment-based nonimmigrant categories: H-2A, H-2B or E-2, and appear in person and provide an unexpired foreign passport at every issuance and renewal.

Foreign nationals holding other lawful status and valid employment authorization documents are now ineligible, including asylees, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries.

The IFR specifically singles out California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington State for licensing failures, warning that any state found noncompliant could lose issuance authority and/or federal funding.

Employers with nondomiciled drivers should plan for disruptions in CDL renewals while states pause and update their systems to comply with the IFR.

Continue reading “DOT Issues Emergency Rule Limiting Commercial Driver’s Licenses for Foreign Nationals”

President Trump Revokes Executive Order 11246

President Trump revoked Executive Order 11246, among others, in a presidential action titled, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” EO 11246 and its related executive orders stood as the underlying authority requiring federal contractors to comply with race and gender affirmative-action obligations.

Continue reading “President Trump Revokes Executive Order 11246”

DOL Issues Final Rule Updating Davis-Bacon and Related Acts

For the first time in almost 40 years, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the issuance of regulations designed to update and modernize the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), which require the payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits on federal contracts for construction. The aptly-named final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations (the Rule) will go into effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

Continue reading “DOL Issues Final Rule Updating Davis-Bacon and Related Acts”

Next Stage Considerations About the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision: How to Put the Warning Letter from the State Attorneys General in Context

As higher education institutions, state and local governments, private employers and federal contractors grapple with understanding the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199 (U.S. June 29, 2023), it is not surprising that elected officials — including 13 state attorneys general — have markedly different views about the philosophy and effects of affirmative action and other race-conscious policies. So, what should potentially affected organizations do in response to this legal uncertainty? We suggest taking a breath and bringing method to the madness.

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates Race-Conscious Admissions: Key Considerations for Postsecondary Institutions, Employers and Others

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al., holding that race-conscious admissions programs used by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina are constitutionally impermissible. Both public colleges and universities, and private institutions receiving federal funds, are prohibited from considering race in admissions decisions. As a result of the decision, institutions may also need to evaluate other areas in which educational services or benefits potentially take race into account, including but not limited to the provision of scholarships or grants. There may also be significant implications for employers’ voluntary affirmative action and DEI programs, as well as potential implications for mandatory affirmative action for government contractors, as a result of the decision.

Continue reading “U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates Race-Conscious Admissions: Key Considerations for Postsecondary Institutions, Employers and Others”

OFCCP Extends Deadline for Individualized Objections From Federal Contractors to Production of Their 2016-2020 EEO-1 Data in Response to FOIA Request

As covered in a previous alert, on August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) notified its federal contractor base that it received a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) for all Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Reports, Standard Form 100 (EEO-1 Report), filed by federal contractors and first tier subcontractors from 2016-2020.

Contractors initially had until September 19, 2022, to file individualized objections to the production of their EEO-1 reports. Importantly, the OFCCP has extended the deadline to file an objection to October 19, 2022, to allow contractors sufficient time to ascertain whether they are covered by the FOIA request and submit objections.

Continue reading “OFCCP Extends Deadline for Individualized Objections From Federal Contractors to Production of Their 2016-2020 EEO-1 Data in Response to FOIA Request”