Labor & Employment Developments Blog

The DOL recently released a final rule intended to provide small businesses with greater access to quality and affordable retirement plans.  The new rule, effective September 30, 2019, clarifies that a small employer group (association) -- such as employers in the same locale or particular industry/trade -- can band together and offer a defined contribution retirement plan to their employees through an Association Retirement Plan (“ARP”).  This significantly relaxes the “commonality” standard previously required for separate employers to offer a combined retirement ...

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released a finalized recordkeeping rule that becomes effective January 1, 2017.  Under the final rule, certain employers are required to electronically submit data regarding work-related injuries and illnesses.  Impacted employers are already required to collect and record this data under OSHA regulations.  However, now, this employer injury and illness data will be public.  Once OSHA removes personal identifying information of employees, the data will be posted on OSHA’s website.

New Rules for Federal Contractors:

On December 3, 2014, the Department of Labor announced a Final Rule changing OFCCP’s regulations so that they prohibit discrimination based on, and require treatment of applicants and employees without regard to, sexual orientation or gender identity.  These final rules were issued as a result of President Obama signing an executive order in July, 2014, extending workplace protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans in the federal contracting workforce.