Articles by PC Editorial Staff

January 31, 2023

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OSHA Issues More Aggressive Instance-by-Instance Citation Policy

Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued targeted enforcement guidance that includes an instance-by-instance citation policy for specific “high-gravity” serious violations. An instance-by-instance citation may apply where the rule's language supports a citation for each instance of non-compliance. Under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of ...

Contractor Fined $724K for Denying Overtime Pay and Falsifying Records

January 31, 2023

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This month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered $724,082 in back wages and damages from an electrical contractor charged with denying overtime pay and falsifying records. Standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) include a federal minimum wage, mandatory overtime pay, recordkeeping requirements, and protections for tipped workers. However, uns...

January 24, 2023

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DHS Improves Deferred Action Process to Protect Migrant Worker Rights

This month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced improvements that would protect undocumented migrant worker rights by streamlining and expediting the deferred action request process. Improvements to the process will allow migrant workers who are victims of, or witnesses to, labor rights violations to report those violations without fear of immigration-related retaliation. T...

January 24, 2023

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Court Rules Lack of Training May Be an Adverse Employment Action

On January 10th, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) held that a lack of proper employee training could constitute an adverse employment action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Generally, an adverse employment action is any employment decision that negatively affects an employee’s job duties, employment status, compensation,...

OSHA Inspectors Find Exposure to Safety Hazards at Logistics Company

January 24, 2023

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Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a well-known logistics company for exposing workers to various safety hazards at three warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois, and New York. The safety hazards included ergonomic and struck-by hazards. Referrals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prompted OSHA to open inspections at th...

January 17, 2023

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DOL Releases Inflation Adjustments for 2023 Civil Monetary Penalties

On January 13th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) made annual adjustments to civil monetary penalties for 2023. In brief, these penalties are assessed or enforced by the DOL and are pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act). The final rule was effective January 15th, 2023. Earlier, the DOL renewed a bi-agency mem...

January 17, 2023

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EEOC Submits 2023-2027 Strategic Enforcement Plan for Public Comment

This month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published its draft 2023-2027 strategic enforcement plan in the Federal Register. It is open for public comment until February 9. It is important to note that this draft plan is still under review by the EEOC. Given that, the plan is subject to its full approval before becoming final. The EEOC’s enforcement efforts include equa...

Company to Pay $5.6M in Back Wages to Misclassified Employees

January 17, 2023

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Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it secured $5.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 1,398 misclassified employees of an Arizona-based logistics company. Briefly, the company illegally misclassified them as exempt independent contractors, denying them overtime pay and other rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The misclassified employees oper...

January 10, 2023

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FTC Rule Would Ban Non-Compete Clauses

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a proposed rule that would ban employers from imposing non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The proposed rule comes after a string of lawsuits the FTC filed against three companies that imposed anticompetitive non-compete clauses on their workers. According to the FTC, such clauses constitute an unfair method of competition in viola...

January 10, 2023

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SAMHSA Releases National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2021 NSDUH)

On January 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2021 NSDUH). Briefly, the survey reveals how people in the United States reported on their mental health conditions, substance use, and related treatment in 2021. The 2021 NSDUH report includes data on...

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

Latest EEOC Enforcement Data Shows Increased Pre-Litigation Activity

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EEOC Pens Letter to Companies Regarding Title VII Compliance and DEI Initiatives

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NLRB Officially Reinstates Previous 2020 Joint Employer Standard

On February 26th, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially reinstated its 2020 Joint Employer standard. Specifically, to do so, the agency needed to formally withdraw a 2023 Joint Employer standard. That final rule was to go into effect on February 26th, 2024.

OSHA Releases New Job Safety and Health Workplace Poster

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new workplace job safety and health notice. Specifically, the OSHA Cares Job Safety and Health poster informs workers about their rights under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. Per OSHA’s poster page, employers do...

Agency Releases Newly Proposed Independent Contractor Status Rule; Seeks Employer Comments

On February 26th, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule designed to help determine independent contractor status. Overall, the new independent contractor rule would help employers better understand when a worker is an employee. Conversely, the rule will allow employers to...

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Articles by PC Editorial Staff