On May 22, ABC joined a coalition of business groups in filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, which will change overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read ABC’s news release announcing the lawsuit.

ABC, as a member of the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity, called upon the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to extend the implementation date of the first increase to the minimum salary threshold under its new final rule altering the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule on overtime, which will change overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule increases the minimum annual salary level threshold for exemption in two phases: from the current level of $35,568 to $43,888 on July 1, 2024, and to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. In addition, the threshold for highly compensated employees will be increase from the current threshold of $107,432 to $132,964 on July 1 and then to $151,164 on Jan. 1. Further, salary thresholds will update every three years starting on July 1, 2027.

On April 19, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which has been in effect since June 27, 2023. As the EEOC explains, the PWFA requires most employers with 15 or more employees “to provide a ‘reasonable accommodation’ to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an ‘undue hardship.’” The final rule goes into effect on June 18.

On April 10, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget concluded its review of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees final rule. The rule would alter overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule is expected to be released imminently now that it has completed OIRA review.

On April 10, the U.S. Senate passed H.J. Res 98, the Joint Employer Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, in a 50-48 vote. ABC sent a key vote letter to senators ahead of the vote urging them to support the resolution, which would nullify the ABC-opposed National Labor Relations Board’s 2023 joint employer final rule. The Senate’s action comes two months after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res 98 in a 206-177 vote, with eight Democrats supporting. Although President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, passage in the House and Senate sends a strong message to the administration as they continue to implement harmful labor policies.

On March 8, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the National Labor Relations Board’s 2023 Joint Employer Final Rule and the Board’s rescission of the ABC-supported 2020 Joint Employer Final Rule. Under the court’s decision, the 2020 final rule, which provides clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, remains in effect today. ABC opposed the 2023 final rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on March 11.

US Department of Homeland Security Updates Immigration-Related Forms, Fees and Penalties For 2024, employers should be aware of changes at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security relating to immigration and employment. Specifically, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated employment-based visa request forms and fees, while penalties administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased in compliance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015.

As part of a legal challenge against the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer final rule, a federal judge in Texas delayed the final rule’s effective date from Feb. 26 to March 11. The new standard will only be applied to cases filed after the rule becomes effective.

The National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule will go into effect on Feb. 26. The new standard, opposed by ABC, will only be applied to cases filed after the rule becomes effective.