Labor & Employment Developments Blog

On Friday, July 17, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule detailing sweeping new requirements for students who wish to maintain their status in the US. Instead of Duration of Status (D/S), DHS will now grant students a period of admission with a fixed end-date to match a student’s I-20, no more than a 4-year period. This will require students to file for extensions of status when a program takes longer than initially intended, when changing to a new program, and when completing practical training associated with their degree program.

On Thursday, June 25, 2026 the Supreme Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe that the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti was lawful, meaning immigration status and work authorization approved based on TPS Haiti will expire July 1, 2026. Employers should carefully review affected I-9 documentation and reverify any I-9 set to expire.

On June 4, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) approved its new National Enforcement Plan (“NEP”) for Fiscal Years 2025–2029, replacing the agency’s prior Strategic Enforcement Plan. The NEP establishes the EEOC’s nationwide enforcement priorities and signals a significant shift in how the agency intends to investigate and litigate employment discrimination claims. Although the NEP applies to employers across industries, its implications may be particularly significant for health care organizations, many of which operate federally funded workforce programs or maintain longstanding diversity initiatives.

An often overlooked benefit provided by private-sector employers is paid federal and state holidays. Though many do so, private-sector employers generally are not required to: close, provide paid time off, pay a holiday premium, or treat holiday hours as “hours worked” for overtime calculations.

On May 14, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission submitted plans to the White House for a proposed rule that would eliminate the longstanding requirement that large employers report workplace demographics through the EEO-1 Component 1 report. While a formal proposal has not yet been announced, the move signals a significant potential shift in federal employment data collection.

On April 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at clarifying when multiple entities may be considered “joint employers” under federal wage and hour laws. If finalized, the rule would create a single, more uniform standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and align that analysis with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), marking a significant step toward consistency across these statutes.

Many employers include mandatory arbitration agreements as a standard part of onboarding, expecting that workplace disputes will be resolved outside of court.  A recent decision from the Sixth Circuit, however, underscores an important—and expansive—limitation on those agreements when sexual harassment is alleged.

Most employers understand that unfair labor practices during a union organizing campaign carry significant legal consequences. In recent years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had ordered employers who engaged in unfair labor practices to bargain with a union regardless of whether the union won the election. In a decision issued on March 6, 2026, the Sixth Circuit (covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee) limited the NLRB’s ability issue such bargaining orders, rejecting the NLRB’s recently announced Cemex framework for ordering employers to recognize and bargain with unions.

Federal labor and employment standards continue to shift as agencies revisit rules issued over the past several years. For HR professionals, staying current on these developments is critical to managing compliance risk and workforce strategy.

Doing business in California has always been a daunting task for employers because of California’s onerous regulations for employers. Now that we are nearly two months into 2026, it is important to ensure you are complying with the most recent regulations.