EEO-1 Extended. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has extended, until June 1, 2018, the deadline for covered employers to file EEO-1 forms. The previous deadline was March 31, 2018. Recall that March 31, 2018, was also the original deadline for employers to report on their employees’ compensation and hours worked, until the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs put the 2016 changes to the EEO-1 form on ice. Kiosha H. Dickey and James A. Patton, Jr., explain why the recent deadline may have been postponed.
OFCCP Compensation Audits. BNA and other media outlets are reporting that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is planning to make changes in the way it conducts compensation compliance evaluations of covered federal contractors. More specifically, the speculation concerns Directive 307 and whether it might be revoked or amended under new OFCCP Director Ondray Harris. So far, there is no official word from OFCCP, but whatever may transpire, the Buzz is hopeful that OFCCP compliance evaluations will be conducted in accordance with Title VII principles.
Worker Center Update. This week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a report urging the Department of Labor (DOL) to examine the legal status of so-called “worker centers.” According to “Worker Centers: Union Front Groups and the Law,” while ostensibly providing training, advocacy, and lobbying efforts on behalf of workers, at least some worker centers have further sought to directly deal and engage with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment for those workers. The Chamber argues that crossing this line makes these groups “labor organizations” under federal law and that they should therefore be held to the standards that apply to labor unions as set forth in the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
EEOC GC Vote. This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee indefinitely postponed its vote on Sharon Fast Gustafson to be general counsel of the EEOC. Republicans enjoy a razor-thin, one-vote majority on the committee, so they will postpone votes when they cannot be assured of clearing the nominee. The Buzz will continue to monitor the progress of Gustafson’s nomination.
Nominee Update. Speaking of nominees, with spring (finally) upon us here in D.C., and it being symbolic of hope and renewal, the Buzz thought this would be a good opportunity to review the status of hopeful nominees to various labor and employment agency positions. John Ring (Chair, National Labor Relations Board) and Patrick Pizzella (Deputy Secretary, DOL) were recently confirmed, but the following nominees are all (still) awaiting final Senate approval:
- Janet Dhillon: originally nominated on June 29, 2017, to be EEOC chair
- Daniel Gade: originally nominated on August 2, 2017, to be EEOC commissioner
- Cheryl Stanton: originally nominated on September 5, 2017, to be the Wage and Hour Division administrator
- Scott Mugno: originally nominated on November 1, 2017, to be assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Buzz wonders if the lack of key personnel—particularly at the Wage and Hour Division and the EEOC—is contributing to the delay in the release of the pending overtime proposal as well as the EEOC’s sexual harassment guidelines.
218 in 2018. Two hundred eighteen years ago this week, President John Adams established the Library of Congress by signing into law legislation that provided $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress” (the legislation also transferred our nation’s capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.). By 1814, the library had amassed 3,000 volumes when it was destroyed in the War of 1812. A few months later, Thomas Jefferson agreed to sell to Congress his personal library of over 6,000 volumes for $23,940, in order to restart the library. Today, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, boasting “more than 39 million books and other printed materials, 3.6 million recordings, 14.8 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 8.1 million pieces of sheet music and 72 million manuscripts.” Amazingly, 12,000 items are added to the collections each day. Happy birthday, Library of Congress!
The Buzz will be off on May 11 because we will be attending Ogletree Deakins’ sold-out 2018 National Workplace Strategies Seminar, but we will return on May 18.
