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Sep 28 2021
Affirmative ActionCOVID-19Harassment & Discrimination

ALERT: Guidance released on federal contractor vaccine mandate

On September 24, 2021, the Biden administration released guidance on the new vaccine mandate for federal contractors, entitled COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors. The new guidance implements Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, issued by President Biden on September 9, 2021. The executive order directed the…

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Sep 16 2021
COVID-19Employee BenefitsLeave Laws

OREGON: Health care workers get paid leave for COVID-19 exposure

Oregon OSHA has published a temporary rule that requires employers with 11 or more employees to pay their health care workers who take time off to quarantine or isolate after a work-related exposure to COVID-19 (coronavirus). This rule on “medical relief benefits” (also referred to as “medical removal protection benefits”) is effective from September 16,…

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Sep 16 2021
Hiring

USCIS extends expiration dates of Permanent Resident Cards

Beginning September 4, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it’s extending the expiration date of conditional Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) from 18 months to 24 months while cases are pending. The Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) provides proof of a worker’s identity and employment authorization status, and may be presented as…

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Sep 16 2021
Affirmative Action

New Census data required for AAPs beginning January 1, 2022

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced that federal supply and service contractors who prepare written affirmative action programs (AAPs) under Executive Order 11246 must begin using updated U.S. Census data for women and minorities by January 1, 2022. This new Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Tabulation was collected from 2014 to 2018….

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Sep 16 2021
Affirmative ActionWage and Hour

Federal contractor minimum wage rises January 1, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has raised the minimum wage for certain federal contracts related to services and construction as of January 1, 2022. The minimum wage for federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 (“Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors”) will rise to $11.25 per hour effective January 1, 2022, up from $10.95 per hour…

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Sep 14 2021
Affirmative ActionCOVID-19Disability

ALERT: Do federal vaccine mandates apply to your organization?

President Biden announced three different federal COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine mandates on September 9, 2021, which may potentially affect Vigilant members. Many details have yet to be released, but here’s a summary of what we know at this point: Employers with 100 or more employees: The President is directing federal OSHA to draft an emergency temporary…

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Sep 02 2021
Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Both women and men benefit from recent OFCCP settlements

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced two financial settlements from federal contractors following routine affirmative action audits that revealed potential discrimination issues in their hiring processes. Interestingly, one company allegedly discriminated against women and the other company allegedly discriminated against men. Neither company admitted liability but each agreed to pay a…

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Sep 02 2021
Affirmative Action

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: OFCCP will review Component 2 pay data after all

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has reversed course and announced that it intends to analyze compensation data that employers submitted in “Component 2” of the EEO-1 Report for calendar years 2017 and 2018. After a hard-fought legal battle, employers with 100 or more employees were required to submit information on employees' pay…

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Sep 02 2021
COVID-19

Form I-9 remote inspection extended again, until December 31, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security has again extended its temporary relaxation of the standards for physically inspecting a new worker’s employment eligibility documents when completing the Form I-9. This is the eleventh extension of the relaxed standard, which will now expire on December 31, 2021. As we originally reported, Homeland Security relaxed the requirement for…

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Sep 02 2021
COVID-19OregonSafety and Health

OREGON: Rules for outdoor mask mandate published

On August 27, 2021, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) published temporary regulations requiring masks to be worn outdoors as well as indoors, with limited exceptions, effective immediately. The new rules incorporate and replace the existing indoor mask requirements that we previously reported here. The added outdoor mask mandate says that regardless of vaccination against COVID-19…

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Sep 02 2021
COVID-19DisabilityOregon

OREGON: Vaccinations required for health care and school workers

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recently filed temporary regulations requiring workers in health care and school settings to obtain COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccinations by October 18, 2021, or else provide documentation of an exemption due to disability or religion. We previously reported that Governor Kate Brown had announced that these workers would have to be fully…

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Aug 27 2021
Leave LawsTermination & ResignationWashington

Legal Corner: Avoid These Three Workers’ Comp Mistakes

I advise Washington employers A LOT about discipline and terminations. One of my recent calls went like this: “Hi, we have a two-year employee who has horrible attendance and a bad attitude. No one likes working with her. She always complains about anxiety, and last week she was a no-call, no-show. When we got a…

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