The New York City Council recently voted to override the veto of Mayor Eric Adams and pass two laws aimed at increasing pay equity and transparency. These laws amend the administrative code of the City of New York and will require private employers with 200 or more employees in the City to annually report certain workforce demographic data to the City. … Continue Reading
Department of Justice Sues Minneapolis Public Schools for Discrimination under Title VII Alleging Preferential Treatment for Teachers of Color
On December 10, 2025, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in Minnesota federal court against Minneapolis Public Schools (“MPS”) Special School District No. 1, its Board of Directors, and the MPS Superintendent. The Complaint alleges that the Defendants are discriminating against teachers based on their race, color, sex, and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, based on provisions in the Defendants’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the teachers’ union.… Continue Reading
A CROWNing Achievement: Pennsylvania Prohibits Workplace Discrimination Based on Race- and Religious-Based Hairstyles and Head Coverings
Just before Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania gave some employees another reason to give thanks. On November 25, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act into law. The law amends the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) to define “race” and “religious creed”—two classes which are legally protected against workplace discrimination—to include certain hairstyles and head coverings.… Continue Reading
Make-Whole or Make-Believe: NLRB “Foreseeable” Damages Creates Circuit Split
Circuit Split Over Thryv Remedies. On October 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit generally upheld expanded make-whole remedies contemplated by the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) in Thryv, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 22 (2022). But since Halloween this year, both the Fifth and the Sixth Circuits joined the Third Circuit in rejecting Thryv remedies.… Continue Reading
Former EEOC Director Files Complaint Alleging Pattern of Discrimination Against Transgender and Nonbinary Employees
Marc Seawright, former Director of Information Governance and Strategy at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), submitted a formal complaint with the EEOC alleging discrimination and harassment based on sex (specifically, gender identity and sexual orientation), as well as a hostile work environment. Seawright, who identifies as a queer transgender man, resigned from his position on June 18, 2025.… Continue Reading
New Jersey Expands Captive Audience Prohibition to Meetings about Unionization
On September 3, 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation prohibiting employers from mandating employee participation in communications about the decision to join or support a labor organization or association. The measure expands New Jersey’s existing restrictions on these “captive audience” meetings related to political and religious matters and joins several other states, including California, New York, Illinois, and Washington, that ban employers from requiring attendance at meetings about religious, political, or labor organization issues.… Continue Reading
U.S. Department of Labor Self-Audit PAID Program Returns, Allowing Employers to Identify and Resolve FLSA and FMLA Violations
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced several self-audit programs to assist employers, unions, and benefit plan officials with voluntarily assessing and correcting their compliance with federal labor laws. One of those programs is the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. The PAID program encourages employers to self-identify and resolve minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and certain leave violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).… Continue Reading
NLRB Acting General Counsel Says Secretly Recording Union Negotiations is Unlawful
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Acting General Counsel recently concluded that surreptitious recordings of collective bargaining sessions is a per se violation of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act). In the memo issued to NLRB regional offices on June 25, 2025, Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen instructed regions to issue a complaint, alleging bad faith bargaining, if an investigation reveals surreptitious recording occurred. … Continue Reading
President Trump’s Budget Goes To Work Against Enforcement Agencies with Significant Cuts to DOL and NLRB
President Trump’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 includes substantial reductions to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) budget and staff. The proposed discretionary budget is slashed from $13.5 billion to $9 billion, reducing it by one third. The number of employees is reduced by nearly 4,000 from 14,855 to 10,879—or a more than 25% cut. … Continue Reading
EEOC Eliminates Option to Include Nonbinary Employees in EEO-1 Reports on Workforce Demographic Data
The 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection window opened on May 20, 2025, and the deadline to file the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 report is June 24, 2025. Filers should note that the collection window is shorter this year, and that beginning this year, all communications sent to filers will be electronic.… Continue Reading