The Employers Counsel Network (ECN), a group of attorneys from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada who specialize in employment law matters, is meeting April 24-26 in Alexandria, Virginia, to learn about the latest developments from Congress and the Obama administration that are of importance to employers.  

The attorneys, who represent employers on all types of workplace issues, will hear speakers outline the latest developments affecting employers, including presentations from government officials representing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

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by David S. Fortney and Judith E. Kramer

Effective February 28, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is changing its approach to compliance audits and enforcement proceedings related to how contractors pay their workers. The changes effectively open nearly every federal contractor’s actions, policies, and practices on compensation to scrutiny, review, and possible challenge.

On February 28, the OFCCP will formally rescind the “Voluntary Guidelines” and “Compensation Standards” issued in 2006. The agency has claimed those documents improperly limit its ability to conduct full investigations of compensation matters.

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has extended the comment period on its proposed rule aimed at increasing employment of people with disabilities. The new deadline for comments is February 21.

The OFCCP published a notice of proposed rulemaking on December 9, 2011, that outlined the proposal to revise Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which obligates most federal contractors and subcontractors to ensure equal employment opportunity for qualified workers with disabilities.

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February 7 marks the end of the public comment period on the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) proposed rule that would set a goal for federal contractors to have seven percent of their workforce be made up of people with disabilities.

With the calendar nearing the comment deadline, it’s time for employers with federal contracts to learn what the rule may mean to them. Kathleen J. Raynsford of Fortney & Scott, LLC, in Washington, D.C., outlined the meaning of the proposed regulation in the January issue of Federal Employment Law Insider.

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