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On February 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a Notice announcing new minimum wage rates for workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts covered by the 2014 Obama-era Executive Order 13658, which established a minimum wage for federal contractors and subcontractors. Effective May 11, 2026, the minimum wage for certain federal contracts will be $13.65 per hour for regular employees and $9.55 per hour for tipped employees.… Continue Reading

Earlier last month, the Senate confirmed over 100 of President Trump’s nominees en bloc in a 51‑47 party-line vote. The confirmed nominees included Brittany Bull Panuccio as an EEOC Commissioner, Andrew Rogers as Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, Jonathan Berry as Solicitor for the DOL.

EEOC Commissioner Brittany Bull Panuccio

Prior to her May 6, 2025, nomination by President Trump, Panuccio worked as an assistant US Attorney in Florida handling criminal and civil appeals.… Continue Reading

After briefly releasing — and then quickly withdrawing — its regulatory agenda last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) has republished its Spring 2025 unified agenda.  According to the DOL’s press release, the Spring 2025 agenda reflects a focus on transparency, deregulatory actions, and clarifying employer obligations across a range of labor and employment issues.… Continue Reading

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

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently confirmed the establishment of a temporary Office of Immigration Policy, aimed at enhancing how DOL administers employment‑based immigration programs.

The new office comes amid growing employer reliance on legal immigration pathways to ensure a “timely, qualified, and stable workforce” through improved visa access as border and interior enforcement has intensified.… Continue Reading

On April 30, 2025, Congressional Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-Oklahoma) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania) introduced the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act in the House of Representatives.

The bill would develop a three-year pilot program administered by the federal Department of Labor (DOL) that would provide grant funding to states that establish paid family leave programs in partnership with private companies.… Continue Reading

During the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final regulation (the “2024 Rule”) seeking to increase the salary threshold for overtime eligibility for the “white-collar” exemption (also referred to as the “EAP” exemption – executive, administrative, and professional) and the “highly-compensated employee” (HCE) exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).… Continue Reading

In our previous post, we discussed the nationwide temporary restraining order issued by the United States District Court for the North District of Illinois that temporarily prevented the Department of Labor from requiring federal contractors to certify that they do not operate any diversity, equity, or inclusion programs that violate the Trump Administration’s recent Executive Orders (“Certification Provision”).… Continue Reading

On March 27, 2025, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a nationwide temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the Department of Labor (DOL) from requiring federal contractors and grant recipients to certify that they do not operate any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that violate the Trump Administration’s recent DEI related Executive Orders.… Continue Reading

On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the appointment of Catherine Eschbach as Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the agency charged with overseeing regulation and enforcement of affirmative action laws for government contractors and subcontractors. Eschbach signaled a shift in the agency’s mission, stating the OFCCP “will restore a merit-based system to provide all workers with equal opportunity.”… Continue Reading