The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently unanimously upheld a federal district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in a suit challenging the constitutionality of California’s employee classification test. In its ruling, the appellate court rejected a trucking association’s challenges to the 2020 law under the dormant commerce and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The case is Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL) recently issued a bulletin announcing that its field staff will no longer utilize the agency’s 2024 independent contractor rule in enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The DOL bulletin directs staff to apply a 2008 fact sheet and a 2019 opinion letter in cases where individuals or the agency have received no payments for back pay or civil Read More

In Kliskey v. Making Opportunity Count, Inc., 2025 WL 959257 (D. Mass. 2025), Carol Kliskey claimed that Making Opportunity Count, Inc. (MOC), her former employer and a private non-profit organization, violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. The alleged FMLA violations included terminating her health insurance in retaliation for taking leave under the Read More

President Trump recently issued an executive order (EO) that effectively cancels federal collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) across 18 federal agencies. The EO is based on the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), which permits a president to terminate CBAs at agencies in the interests of national security. To qualify for this exemption from CBAs under the CSRA, the workers at that agency must have the Read More

According to a recent report, UnitedHealth Group has removed much of its website content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). UnitedHealth’s spokesperson, Tyler Mason, stated that the company complies with existing laws while still trying to support the communities they serve with “a collaborative environment where we treat each other with mutual respect.” Clicking on UnitedHealthcare webpages that Read More

Littler, a law firm focusing on labor, recently published a study showing that only about eight percent of leading American companies have or intend to alter their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. The Littler study involved about 350 C-suite executives. Despite a few high-profile defections of major companies from DEI, most companies have been slow to consider any meaningful reform. The study shows Read More

Companies are increasingly embracing return-to-office (RTO) mandates, but new SHRM research and data reveal an unexpected consequence of those mandates. The incidence of uncivil acts occurring in the workplace is substantially higher for employees whose employers have issued RTO mandates. According to the SHRM Q1 2025 Civility Index, employees at companies with RTO mandates reported 63% more acts of workplace Read More

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued two technical assistance documents entitled: “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work” and “What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work.” Although these documents do not establish any new legal rights or causes of action, they clarify employee protections under Title VII of the Read More

Several large corporations like Target and Wal-Mart have rescinded their formal DEI programs in recent months, presumably to comply with mandates and warnings by the current federal government administration. Nonetheless, a recent report shows that while corporations may be backing away from official DEI programs, they continue to embrace DEI principles in a less obvious manner. Recruiting firm BarkerGilmore Read More

A federal district court judge in Maryland has issued a preliminary nationwide injunction against several provisions in one of Trump’s executive orders related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at private companies. The court’s February 21, 2025, ruling in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-00333 (2025), prevents the Trump administration from enforcing Read More