Federal Alerts

On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo (Loper Bright) which overturned the long-standing precedent of Chevron USA Inc. v. NRDC. The Chevron case established the so-called Chevron Doctrine which stated that judicial deference should be afforded to federal agency determinations in interpreting statutes where legislation may be ambiguous or subject to interpretation.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA compliance officers during an inspection of their workplace. The rule takes effect May 31, 2024.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a final rule that implements the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The final rule takes effect June 18, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has published a rule that temporarily increases the automatic extension period of employment authorization and/or Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766 or EAD) validity from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. 

The U.S. Department of Labor has released industry-specific guidance on expanded protections for nursing employees under federal law.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a final rule that will change the test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule takes effect March 11, 2024. Here are some key points to know about the new test.

The new test

The DOL uses an "economic realities" test to determine whether workers are considered employees and therefore covered by the FLSA and entitled to minimum wage, overtime, and other wage and hour protections. Effective March 11, 2024, the test will:

1. Return to a totality-of-the-circumstances economic reality test, where no single factor or group of factors is assigned any predetermined weight; and
2. Consider six factors (instead of five), including the investments made by the worker and the potential employer.
   
   

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