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Quick Hits A federal district court in California has blocked USCIS, CBP, and the State Department from enforcing or implementing policies related to the proclamation-based $100,000 H-1B payment requirement. The California ruling represents another adverse federal district court decision involving the $100,000 payment, which is already blocked pursuant to a separate federal district court decision in Massachusetts that is currently on appeal. The court order does not affect the U.S.…

Quick Hits On September 29, 2026, the SBA removed disparate impact liability and race-conscious affirmative action requirements from 13 CFR Part 112, effective immediately, without prior notice and comment. The revised rule states Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits only intentional discrimination and rests on the same legal authorities as the earlier agency rescissions, Alexander v. Sandoval, Loper Bright, Students for Fair Admissions, and Executive Order…

Quick Hits AI tools can be extremely helpful in supporting the need for constant safety oversight in manufacturing environments However, employers retain the responsibility to comply with OSHA regulations, even if the employer implemented an AI process designed to protect worker safety. AI has many positive use scenarios in a manufacturing setting. A camera notices that a worker walked into a press area without safety glasses. A sensor on a…

Quick Hits Beginning January 1, 2028, employers already subject to California’s mandatory harassment prevention training requirements must incorporate an anti-hate speech component into that training. AB 1803 does not create a separate training obligation and does not increase the existing one-hour and two-hour training minimums. Employers may fold the new content into their current programs. The bill does not define “hate speech,” a gap the Assembly Committee on Labor and…

Quick Hits Beginning in January 2027, the IDOL will no longer allow employers to use “prefers not to identify” for reported employees’ race/ethnicity. The IDOL notes an academic study that suggests ways to examine EPRC filings and possibly take stronger action based on statistical differences. The IDOL has updated its process for handling overdue/unmade EPRC filings from three (3) steps to two (2) steps, meaning filers have less time to…

Quick Hits Volunteering may trigger certain duties of consideration (Rücksichtnahmepflichten) for employers. The specific activity is decisive, however, so each case must be assessed individually. As a general rule, volunteering remains a private matter. What Is Volunteering? Volunteering (Ehrenamt) generally means a voluntary activity that is not aimed at generating profit and benefits the public good. An expense allowance may be paid in the form of money, provided there is…

Quick Hits The IRS and Treasury Department confirmed that most employer-sponsored retirement plans generally have until December 31, 2026, to adopt discretionary amendments implementing SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions, with later deadlines for collectively bargained, governmental, and public school 403(b) plans. Required amendments, and future guidance relating to discretionary amendments that have already been adopted, may have later deadlines tied to future IRS Required Amendments (RA) lists. The IRS and…

On September 23, 2026, the New York State Department of Labor published, on page 9 of the New York State Register, a proposed rule, “Opioid Antagonists in the Workplace,” clarifying how employers must comply. The rule addresses how many opioid antagonists employers must keep on-site, where to store them, and how to train employees. This proposed rule is open for public comment until November 22, 2026. Quick Hits Covered employers…

Quick Hits The Allegheny County Board of Health is reviewing amendments to a proposed paid parental leave ordinance issued in May 2026 that would shorten the length of paid leave from eighteen to twelve weeks and revise employer eligibility from all employers to those with fifteen or more employees. The Board will vote on whether to approve the paid parental leave policy as amended on September 28, 2026. In May…

Quick Hits In Joyner v. Frontier Airlines, the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that customer service agents at a Denver airport were transportation workers exempt from federal arbitration law. The Tenth Circuit found the lower court had improperly relied on the work the named plaintiffs had actually performed, rather than what a typical class member did. The case hinged on whether the employees regularly handled passengers’ bags and…