Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

January 25, 2017
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Trump Issues Gag Order on Federal Agencies -- Or Not?

Various media reports maintain that both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture have received memos from the White House forbidding them to send out press releases, make new blog posts or engage in social media. Furthermore, the EPA has been told to cease issuing grants and contracts. It's unclear if any other government agencies have been similarly curtail...
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January 23, 2017
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Trump Orders Federal Hiring Freeze and Withdraws from TPP

On the first day of his first workweek in office, President Trump ordered a federal hiring freeze at all entities except the military. He also signed an order withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a controversial trade agreement between the U.S. and several Asian nations that both Bernie Sanders and (reluctantly) Hillary Clinton opposed in their presidential campaigns. The hiri...
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January 21, 2017
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New Form I-9 Must Be Used Starting Today

The revised "smart" version of the Employment Verification Form I-9 must be used beginning today, Jan. 22, even though it's a Sunday and unlikely that many new hires would start work today. Form I-9 came about as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, when President Ronald Reagan and the Congress granted amnesty to all undocumented aliens. The vetting process under ...
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January 21, 2017
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Death by a Thousand Cuts -- or One Executive Action -- to Obamacare

Shortly after signing an executive order barring any new regulations by federal agencies, President Donald J. Trump signed another order that mandates his agencies to “to waive, defer, grant exemptions from or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the [Affordable Care] Act [ACA]” that they deem to burden individuals, insurers, health-care providers, or states." Both the i...
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January 20, 2017
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Trump's First Act as President Is to Delay All New Regulations

Hours after being sworn in and after having blasted the Washington, D.C., establishment in his inaugural address for having enriched themselves at the expense of American workers, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order banning federal agencies from issuing new regulations for 60 days. It is expected that, in his first week in office, he will issue further executive orders undoing ...
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January 19, 2017
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OSHA Adjusts 2017 Penalties for Inflation

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule to adjust its monetary fine levels for inflation, which it can do by Jan. 15 of each year under terms of 2016's Inflation Adjustment Act. The new fines, according to the final rule, became effective on Jan. 13, 2017. The 2017 maximum penalties are as follows: Other-than-Serious: $12,675 ...
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January 18, 2017
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DOL Sues Technology Giant Oracle Over Pay, Hiring Discrimination

The Department of Labor (DOL) has filed suit against the Oracle Corp. of Redwood Shores, Calif., alleging the technology giant pays white males more than female or minority employees and also favors the hiring of Asians for certain positions. The lawsuit follows on the heels of a review of its equal employment opportunity practices that began in 2014. According to the DOL, Oracle refused to pr...
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January 17, 2017
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Obamacare Popularity Picks Up as the End Nears

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows for the first time that those who think the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) is a "good idea" outweigh those who think it's a "bad idea," 45 to 41 percent. It was the first positive poll result for the health care program since it was announced back in 2009. Worse news for the Republicans who are planning to kill the program is that 50 perc...
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January 12, 2017
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EEOC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Enforcement Guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it has voted to release for public input a proposed enforcement guidance addressing unlawful harassment under the federal employment discrimination laws. The proposed Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Harassment is available for input until Feb. 9, 2017, at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EEOC-2016-0009. This proposed guidan...
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January 11, 2017
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Republicans Push Back Timetable for Repealing and Replacing Obamacare

The rush to end the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as Obamacare, has taken a back seat to reality as the new Republican Congress, emboldened by an incoming Republican administration in the White House, weighs its options on health care. Five GOP senators have now submitted an amendment to extend the ACA repeal vote (through a process known as budget reconciliation) from Jan. 2...
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Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

DOJ Challenges EEOC's Stance on Disparate Impact Claims
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