Federal Employment Law Articles

Takeaways USCIS and E-Verify have issued updated employer guidance for TPS beneficiaries from Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. For all seven countries, employers should use July 10, 2026, as the current date for Form I-9 and E-Verify purposes. Employers should not assume July 10 marks the automatic end of TPS-based employment authorization, particularly for Haiti and Syria, where litigation and agency implementation remain ongoing. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’…

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to withhold funding from states and grant recipients that have not confirmed their compliance with Trump administration policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), “gender ideology,” women’s and girls’ sports, and immigration.

TakeawaysThe U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to nearly all children born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration statusThe Court held that Executive Order (EO) 14160, which sought to deny citizenship at birth to certain children born to parents who were unlawfully present or present in temporary immigration statuses, was unconstitutional The decision reaffirms more than a century of constitutional precedent interpret…

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that state laws that restrict interscholastic and intercollegiate athletic participation based on biological sex—and that effectively ban transgender women and transgender girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports—do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

EEOC Rescinds Guidance on Permissible Affirmative Action On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had rescinded two documents relating to permissible affirmative action 1 under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act: (1) its regulatory guidelines 2 on “appropriate” affirmative action under the statute; and (2) section 607 of its Compliance Manual, which addressed those guidelines and the agency’s enforcement positions with respect to permissible affir…

Dear Littler: What Misclassification Issues Are There in the Work(out) Place? Dear Littler: It took longer than I expected, but I finally got my fitness studio up and running! Between negotiating the lease, buying equipment, marketing, and finding some quality trainers, my head is just swimming. I finally took a break last night, but I got a concerning text message from our night manager saying that one of our trainers was asking why the manager was an employee, but he wasn’t. Should I be worri…

As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this week, it’s hard not to think about how much has changed over the past two and a half centuries. The workplace certainly has. The nation’s founders could never have

Takeaways Keith Sonderling is currently serving as Acting Secretary of Labor and previously held senior DOL roles, including Deputy Secretary and leadership positions in the Wage and Hour Division. Sonderling’s nomination elevates a seasoned policymaker with prior leadership experience at both the Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The DOL under Sonderling can be expected to continue a focus on compliance assistance and rulemaking to clarify agency regulations and …

The summer months are just around the corner—and with them comes a multitude of temporary employment arrangements. Whether working students, interns, or summer workers: for employers, hiring these groups is often economically attractive but also carries certain employment law risks that are frequently underestimated in practice. The following article provides an overview of the most important pitfalls and highlights key considerations for employers in Germany.

On June 26, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that a Pennsylvania university did not discriminate against a secretary based on an alleged disability when it denied her request to work remotely as a disability accommodation because the secretary’s position had several in-person job responsibilities.

In this episode, Jen discusses why California's workplace violence prevention law requires far more than a written plan. She examines the mistakes employers...

Takeaways The EEOC voted to rescind its 1979 interpretive guidance on voluntary affirmative action under Title VII and the related EEOC Compliance Manual Section 607. The EEOC said the guidance was inconsistent with the text of Title VII and subsequent Supreme Court precedent. The rescission reflects the EEOC’s continued shift away from prior agency positions on affirmative action and DEI-related employment practices. Links EEOC Votes to Rescind Affirmative Action Interpretive Guidelines and Re…

The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) surface mobile equipment rule became effective in January 2024, with a July 2024 compliance deadline. Because enforcement has been ongoing for about two years, it’s worth reviewing the data for metal/nonmetal mines and considering trends in enforcement. Perhaps the best place to start is by considering 30 C.F.R. § 56.23002(a), the provision requiring metal/nonmetal operators to implement a written safety program.

USCIS Updates TPS-Related EAD Expirations On July 1, 2026, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updates extending the expiration dates of employment authorization documents (EAD) related to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals from the following countries: Haiti, Burma, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. tgelbman@littler.com Wed, 07/01/2026 - 15:33

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines regarding disparate impact liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are inconsistent with the statute and raise serious constitutional concerns, the U.S. Department of Justice said in an opinion letter issued on June 9, 2026.

Takeaways The NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a single age-based eligibility standard on 06.23.26 that replaces season-of-competition limits and sport-specific eligibility rules. Student-athletes who enroll full-time in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday will receive up to five years of eligibility. Schools must submit any waiver requests under the prior rules no later than 07.31.26; after that date, the waiver process is eliminated.Related Links

Denmark’s New Government – Initiatives on Business and the Labor Market After 70 days of negotiations, four parties presented the agenda for Denmark’s new government on June 2, 2026. The four parties are the Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberal Party, and the Moderates. The government is anchored in the center‑left. tgelbman@littler.com Tue, 06/30/2026 - 08:23

If your employee handbook uses outdated terms, such as Walkman and floppy disk, it may be time for an update.

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14160 in Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365 , reaffirming that the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants automatic birthright citizenship to virtually all children born on United States soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that President Has Broad (but Limited) Authority to Fire Agency Leaders In a pair of widely expected opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for the president to fire the leaders of federal agencies. In the first opinion, Trump v. Slaughter , the Court held that the president can fire the heads of most federal agencies at will. But in the second, Trump v. Cook , the Court refused to extend that general rule to the Federal Reserve. tgelbman@littler.com Tue, 06/30…