Quick Hits In Perez v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., the Ninth Circuit joined the Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits in holding that an employer’s right to obtain a second opinion is permissive, not mandatory, under the FMLA. A jury may consider an employer’s nonmedical evidence in determining whether an…

Quick Hits On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law legislation requiring Massachusetts employers with twenty-five or more employees to disclose pay ranges. Employers with one hundred or more employees and subject to EEO-1 reporting obligations will be required to report aggregated wage data by race, ethnicity, sex,…

Quick Hits OFCCP updated its guidance on protected veterans hiring obligations and affirmative action policies encouraging contractors to provide apprenticeship opportunities to protected veterans. OFCCP said protected veterans must be provided equal opportunity to participate in apprenticeship opportunities and that providing such opportunities can help contractors meet their obligations to…

Quick Hits DHS recently added Environmental/Natural Resources Economics to the STEM list of qualifying fields of study. More F-1 nonimmigrant students will be eligible for the twenty-four-month extension of their post-completion OPT. The STEM Designated Degree Program List is “a complete list of fields of study that DHS considers to…

The first article in this series provided a general overview of the OSH Act and OSHA; the second article examined OSHA’s rulemaking process; the third article reviewed an employer’s duty to comply with standards; the fourth article discussed the general duty clause; the fifth article addressed OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements; the…

Quick Hits The 2024 VETS-4212 reporting platform will open on August 1, 2024. All 2024 VETS-4212 filings are due by September 30, 2024. Federal contractors and subcontractors with a single covered contact of $150,000 or more are required to file VETS-4212 reports. The same data can be used for both…

Quick Hits Cal/OSHA released a revised discussion draft of a proposed workplace violence prevention standard for general industry (non-healthcare settings). The draft proposal includes definitions of engineering controls and work practice controls, and it would require employers to communicate with “authorized employee representatives” and employees regarding workplace violence matters. Comments…

Quick Hits The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida recently upheld an injunction against part of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act, which regulated the types of content that employers could include in employee training. The court found that a section of…