Overview:
- OFCCP recently amended its Supply and Service Scheduling List
- On March 11, 2021, Biden signed the “American Rescue Plan of 2021
- On March 12, 2021, Biden’s DOL announced plans to rescind two “Final Rules”
Details:
- OFCCP recently amended its Supply and Service Scheduling List by removing all establishments selected to receive focused reviews and compliance checks. The list now includes approximately 500 establishments total scheduled for reviews, down from the original 2,250 establishments that were named in the FY2020 CSAL. The type of reviews remaining in the CSAL are Establishment Reviews, Functional Affirmative Action Program (FAAP) evaluations and Corporate Management Compliance Evaluations (CMCE). The agency published a FAQ stating that establishments who have compliance checks or focused reviews in progress from prior lists will still continue as scheduled. Construction Compliance Checks will also proceed as planned with no changes. Our experienced team remains ready to assist you if your business has been selected for any of these reviews by OFCCP.
- On March 11, 2021, Biden signed the “American Rescue Plan of 2021,” which among other things, extends again and expands the paid sick and FMLA leave tax credits created in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (“FFCRA”). It provides payroll tax credits for employers who voluntarily provide paid leave (providing FFCRA leave is no longer mandatory) through the end of September 2021. It also expands eligibility to state and local governments that provide this benefit. The controversial $15 per hour minimum wage boost proposed by Democrats did not make it into the final bill. Additional provisions include:
- An Increase in the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022;
- Increased funding for the Secretary of Labor of $200,000,000 through September 30, 2023, approximately half of which is designated for OSHA—with at least $5,000,000 marked for enforcement activities related to COVID-19 at high-risk workplaces. correctional facilities. Along those lines, OSHA launched a national emphasis program to protect high-risk workers from COVID-19 hazards. The program also prioritizes actions against employers that retaliate against workers who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions.
- An extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA) through September 6, 2021, as well as an increase in the number of weeks available to individuals who are not able to return to work safely (from 50 to 79 total weeks), and an extension of the federal supplemental unemployment benefit (FPUC) of $300.
- COBRA premium assistance.
- On March 12, 2021, Biden’s DOL announced plans to rescind two “Final Rules” recently issued at the end of the Trump administration.
- The first Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes the withdrawal of the Independent Contractor Final Rule issued by DOL on Jan. 7, 2021, and
- the second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks to rescind a current regulation on joint employer relationships under the Fair Labor Standards Act, published in the Federal Register and which took effect on March 16, 2020. DOL invites comments from the public on both proposed rules at regulations.gov. The comment periods end on April 12, 2021.