On September 8, 2023, the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released its second Corporate Scheduling Announcement (CSAL) of the year. Federal contractors should immediately review the 2023 CSAL because it serves as the only advance notification to contractors of upcoming audits.
OFCCP’s New Supply and Service Scheduling Letter Significantly Increases Audit Scope
On August 25, 2023, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that it has updated its Supply and Service Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing (Scheduling Letter). According to the OFCCP’s announcement, the updated Scheduling Letter “encourages contractors to submit information electronically, clarifies existing requirements, and requests new information that will allow OFCCP to better assess compliance.”
Puerto Rico Amends Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act
On July 28, 2023, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed Law No. 74 of 2023 (“Law 74”) into law. Law 74 amends Puerto Rico’s Act for the Prevention and Intervention with Domestic Violence, adding additional protections for victims of domestic violence.
The amendment includes “economic violence” as a modality for domestic abuse. “Economic violence” is defined as:
“[C]onduct directed at impairing the present or future financial capacity, economic stability, or lodging and housing security through threats, coercion, fraud, restriction, or preventing access to or use of accounts, assets, financial information, identification or credit cards, money, or government assistance; concealment of information related to the payment of rent or mortgages, or forced evictions; exercising undue influence on a person’s decisions or behavior or financial and economic decisions of a person, or interference in a person’s employment relationship or performance or in his or her own business. It also includes misusing the person’s financial resources, including money, assets and credit for personal gain, and preventing access to formal courses of study and impairing the victim’s academic performance.”
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No Robot Bosses! Congress Takes on Employers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence
Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) have recently introduced the No Robot Bosses Act (the Bill) to the Senate in an effort to regulate employers’ use of automated decision systems in the workplace. The Bill covers past and present candidates for employment as well as workers “performing work for remuneration.” This broad definition is of particular importance as many employers use AI to sift through past applications to solicit reapplications if a new position opens up.
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The New Critical Importance of a Union Request for Recognition
What does it mean if a union makes a “demand for recognition,” or “request for voluntary recognition” to an employer? What does a union mean when it says it has a “showing of interest” or “proof of majority support” or “majority status,” or that it has been “designated as Section 9(a) representative by the majority of employees in an appropriate unit”?
These magic words are now of critical importance to employers and their employees due to a dramatic change the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced on August 25, 2023, in how it interprets the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
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India Passes New Data Protection Legislation
After several years of debate, India has passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 (DPDPA), an overhaul of the country’s data protection regime that will require employers operating in India to take stock of current data protection policies and ensure alignment with the new law.
Like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the DPDPA is a comprehensive framework that will require data processers to identify a lawful purpose for processing personal data, with limited exceptions such as in cases where the data is publicly available or the processing is necessary as part of a merger or a restructuring. Similar to the GDPR, it applies to all data processing in India or that is related to the provision of goods and services to individuals in India.
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