Labor & Employment Developments Blog

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a proposed rule that would significantly revamp how workplace discrimination complaints are handled for federal employees and applicants. The proposed changes aim to address what EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas called a "deeply broken" system — one that is too slow, too complicated, and that often leaves both employees and agencies waiting years for resolution.

On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published three coordinated final rules that significantly reshape federal contractor compliance obligations. These rules follow the revocation of Executive Order 11246 by President Trump in January 2025.  Prior to President Trump’s revocation, Executive Order 11246 had been a longstanding order that required federal contractors to maintain race- and sex-based affirmative action programs since 1965. Below is a summary of each final rule.

On Friday, July 24, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the government's motion to put its $100,000 H-1B fee in effect while the challenge against it remains pending.

Most employers understand that employees who take or formally request leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are protected from retaliation. In a decision issued on May 14, 2026, the Sixth Circuit (covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee) clarified that those protections may begin even earlier. In Paris v. MacAllister Machinery Co., the Court held that an employee’s request for FMLA paperwork may constitute protected activity – even if the employee never completes or returns the paperwork.

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.