Washington D.C. Employment Law Update : Washington D.C. Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Virginia, Tyson's Corner

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has posted on its website a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the reverse discrimination case involving New Haven firefighters. In Ricci, the Court determined that the City of New Haven – by tossing the results of an exam that would have disqualified African American from receiving promotions – discriminated against non-African Americans whose scores would have qualified them for advancement. The Court held that “before an employer can engage in intentional discrimination for the asserted purpose of avoiding or remedying an unintentional disparate impact, the employer must have a strong basis in evidence to believe it will be subject to disparate-impact liability if it fails to take the race-conscious, discriminatory action.” This decision has left many federal contractors – who must implement affirmative action programs – wondering whether Ricci will affect the OFCCP’s compliance reviews, and whether the decision would change the contractor’s obligations regarding the use and validation of job-related tests.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has filed cloture on the nomination of Craig Becker to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  According to the Hill.com’s Blog Briefing Room, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has put a hold on all of Obama’s nominations pending before the Senate, including Becker’s. Therefore, at least 60 Senators must vote to end debate on the nomination – a feat likely made more difficult now that Republican Scott Brown has been sworn in as a Massachusetts senator. The Senate House, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee cleared Becker’s nomination on Thursday on a party-line vote. Becker’s cloture vote is scheduled for Monday at 5:00 pm.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the Obama administration’s renewed emphasis on job creation, a number of lawmakers have introduced bills that focus on employer incentives. On Wednesday, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released details about the Hire Now Tax Cut Act of 2010 (S. 2983), legislation that would exempt any employer that hires a worker who has been without full-time work for at least 60 days from paying the employer’s share of Social Security taxes on that worker for 2010. According to its sponsors, the advantage of structuring a tax incentive in this fashion is that it would provide businesses with an immediate benefit, instead of rewarding them with a tax credit in 2011. Additionally, the benefits to an employer would increase the longer it retains and the more it pays the employee, up to the maximum Social Security wage of $106,800.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

By a party-line vote of 60-37, the Senate has confirmed the nomination of Patricia Smith to be the U.S. Solicitor of Labor. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee had approved her nomination on October 7, but controversy arose when Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) accused Smith of making inconsistent statements during her confirmation hearing in May 2009. At issue was Smith’s testimony regarding the New York Wage Watch program, an initiative based on the Neighborhood Watch program that purportedly exposes businesses that violate wage and hour law. Smith is currently the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor (DOL), and unveiled the Wage Watch program last year. During her confirmation hearing, Smith denied that outside groups were involved in creating the program, an assertion that has come under fire. Sen. Enzi, Smith’s most vocal critic, has accused her of being a “trusted ally of organized labor and even allows them to participate heavily in the formulation of her agency's initiatives.” Smith later claimed that she “misspoke” about the timeline of various advocacy group and union involvement in the Wage Watch program. The alleged conflicting testimony threatened to derail Smith’s nomination, but the Senate voted 60-32 to end debate on her nomination on Monday, clearing the way for her confirmation.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted 13-10 along party lines in favor of Craig Becker’s nomination to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This vote follows a contentious hearing over Becker’s nomination that was held on Tuesday. It was widely believed that once the HELP Committee cleared Becker’s nomination, it would be sent quickly to the Senate floor for a final vote before Republican Scott Brown was sworn in as senator, an event originally scheduled for next Thursday. This plan might be derailed, however, as it was announced yesterday that Brown could be sworn in as early as 5:00 pm today, raising the chances that Senate Republicans will be able to stop Becker’s confirmation.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The Department of Transportation (DOT) will publish in tomorrow’s edition of the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (pdf) to amend certain drug-testing procedures to conform them to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) laboratory drug-testing requirements. According to a summary of the NPRM, the proposed changes are intended to create consistency with new requirements established by the HHS Mandatory Guidelines. Primary proposed changes include:

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing on the nomination of Craig Becker to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). During this hearing, Becker – Associate General Counsel to both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations – tried to distance himself from the controversial positions he has taken in his scholarly writings, and assure committee members that he would be impartial Board member.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As part of President Obama’s Open Government initiative, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has created a web site that provides information on the agency’s monthly case docket, chart of case activity, and briefing notices. The OSHRC is a quasi-judicial independent federal agency that presides over contests of OSHA inspection citations or penalties. The agency has also posted a link to its administrative law judge (ALJ) decisions that are pending OSHRC review.

Photo credit:   MBPHOTO, INC.

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Today President Obama outlined his plan to promote the growth of small businesses as a way to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment. During his State of the Union Address, Obama proposed using $30 billion repaid funds that financial institutions received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to increase the ability of small businesses to obtain loans. In addition, he called for tax incentives for businesses to invest in new plants and equipment, and the elimination of capital gains taxes on small business investment. 

• Email This
• Print
• Trackbacks
• Share Link