Beltway Buzz, June 27, 2025

SCOTUS Rejects Retiree’s ADA Claim. Late last week, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that limits the ability of retirees to bring discrimination challenges under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida, the plaintiff—a retired firefighter—claimed that her employer had violated the ADA by deciding (fifteen years prior to her retirement) to provide different health insurance coverage to employees who retired due to disability, as opposed to those who retired after a certain amount of service. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch determined that the ADA only prohibits disability-based discrimination against a “qualified individual”—defined in the statute as “an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.” The Court ruled that the retiree plaintiff was not a “qualified individual” and therefore could not bring her claim. Jonathan R. Mook and Zachary V. Zagger have more details.

DOL Jump-Starts Regulatory Agenda. The Trump administration has not yet issued its first regulatory agenda (though it is expected to be released at any moment now), but officials at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) aren’t letting that stop them from moving forward with several rulemaking initiatives. The following proposals were sent this week to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and are at the pre-rule stage:

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): “Interpretation of the General Duty Clause: Limitation for Inherently Risky Professional Activities.”
• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP): “Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations.”
• Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS): “Filing Thresholds for Forms LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 Labor Organization Annual Reports.”
• Wage and Hour Division:
  • “Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service.”
  • “Amending Child Labor Hours of Work and Hazardous Occupation Standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
  • “Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Rescission of Dual Jobs.”

Unfortunately, at this stage of the rulemaking process, these proposals are not made available to the public. After OIRA reviews and approves these proposals, the DOL will publish them as notices of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, and this will kick off the public comment process.

EEOC, DOL Nominations Update. On June 26, 2025, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted along party lines to advance the nominations of Andrea Lucas to be a member (for a second term) of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Jonathan Berry to be solicitor of labor, David Keeling to be assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, Daniel Aronowitz to be assistant secretary of labor and head the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and Andrew Rogers to be administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. The next step for the nominees is a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Additionally, while Aronowitz awaits that vote by the full Senate, the former chair of the EEOC, Janet Dhillon, has been named acting assistant secretary for EBSA. Dhillon is also awaiting a vote on her own nomination to run the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

DHS Launches “Status Change Report” for E-Verify Users. The Trump administration’s actions to terminate the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole program and other parole programs have left many employers confused as to how to balance their legal obligation to refrain from hiring unauthorized workers without violating the discrimination provisions of federal immigration law. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a notice to employers about a new E-Verify “Status Change Report” that “allows E-Verify employers to review their aggregated case data for any employees who presented an EAD [employment authorization document] for employment verification which has now been revoked by DHS.” Employers are required to “begin reverifying each current employee whose EAD the Status Change Report indicated was revoked, and complete all reverifications within a reasonable amount of time.” Of course, this new guidance only impacts employers enrolled in E-Verify.

GAO: OLMS Can Improve LMRDA Enforcement. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report, “Labor Organization Oversight: Department of Labor Should Enhance Enforcement and Assistance Processes.” The report examines how well OLMS is doing in enforcing the Labor-Management and Reporting Disclosure Act (LMRDA), the federal law that promotes transparency and financial integrity of labor organizations. According to the report, “from fiscal years 2019 through 2023, OLMS identified LMRDA violations in at least 92 percent of labor organizations selected for audit.” The report offers seven recommendations for how the DOL can improve in this area, including developing protocols “to track labor organizations that OLMS officials determine merit follow up based on past violations identified during a compliance audit.” OLMS was basically dormant during the Biden administration, but as indicated by the proposals it has already sent to OIRA (described above) the Buzz expects the office to be more diligent in ensuring labor unions’ compliance with their LMRDA obligations.

An Ink-redible Birthday. One hundred sixty-five years ago this week, President James Buchanan signed a congressional resolution establishing the Government Printing Office (GPO).

The need for printing government materials became evident as far back as the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 when James Wilson, a delegate from Pennsylvania, claimed, “The people have a right to know what their Agents are doing or have done, and it should not be in the option of the Legislature to conceal their proceedings.” Initial printing needs were handled on an ad hoc contractual basis with Washington, D.C.–based newspapers and printers. In the early 1800s, the U.S. Congress took steps toward more formal and regular printing arrangements, passing a resolution in 1819 establishing a uniform format for the printing of congressional materials, as well as rates that it would pay private-sector printers. Still, this arrangement led to increased costs and even scandals, as printers vied to make lucrative profits off these contracts. Eventually, this led Congress to establish the GPO as an agency of the legislative branch.

Since opening its doors on March 4, 1861, the GPO has always been located between H Street and G Street on North Capitol Street NW, just a few blocks from the Capitol Building. In 2014, Congress passed a law changing the agency’s name from the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing Office.

The Buzz will be off next week but will return on July 11, 2025. Happy Independence Day!