Andrew Aitchison
Andrew Aitchison is an associate in the Corporate Department.
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Last week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced a Final Rule prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors and subcontractors. The Rule implements Executive Order 13672 signed by President Obama in July 2014. OFCCP announced during a Webinar yesterday that the new Rule will become effective April 8, … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced a Final Rule prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors and subcontractors. The Rule, which implements Executive Order 13672 signed by President Obama in July 2014, will be effective 120 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register. If, as anticipated, the … Continue Reading
In the context of analyzing a Title VII Civil Rights and Massachusetts law “disparate impact” claim, a federal court has cast considerable doubt on the efficacy of statistical tools employed in “disparate impact” analysis. In Pedro Lopez, et al. v. City of Lawrence, et al., the district court ruled in favor of multiple police departments … Continue Reading
The OFCCP recently added two new “FAQs” to its website to help explain contractors’ obligations under new Section 503 and VEVRAA regulations. The first addresses the information contractors must maintain related to efforts to invite voluntary self-identification of disability. The FAQ informs contractors that if the contractor uses an electronic version of the required disability … Continue Reading
The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) has approved changes to the current contractor scheduling letter and itemized listing used by OFCCP in compliance reviews. The new letter is expected to be released today. OFCCP proposed the changes to its scheduling letter three years ago. OFCCP announced today OMB’s approval of the following changes to … Continue Reading
Changes to the VETS-100A report proposed by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (“VETS”) earlier this year were approved and were published in the Federal Register last week. The Final Rule revises regulations implementing reporting requirements under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended (“VEVRAA”). The new rule … Continue Reading
On Monday, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued a proposed rule that would bar federal contractors from firing or otherwise retaliating against employees or applicants for discussing their pay or the pay of their co-workers. The rule implements an executive order signed by President Obama in April, which instructed … Continue Reading
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that employees of contractors and subcontractors at JFK and LaGuardia airports currently earning minimum wage are to receive a pay increase from $9.00 to $10.10. The policy, which also promises a paid holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and annual wage increases tied to increases in the consumer … Continue Reading
Proskauer recently reported on President Obama’s recent executive order requiring contractors to report various employment and labor law violations and requiring those violations to be considered in the government’s decisions to award contracts to and retain contractors. Connie Bertram, Co-Chair of Proskauer’s Government Regulatory Compliance and Relations Group, was recently interviewed about the executive order … Continue Reading
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued a proposed rule today that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to provide summary information on total W-2 compensation paid to employees by sex, race, ethnicity, and specified job categories, as well as other relevant data points such as hours worked, and the number of employees. … Continue Reading
As the White House announced last month, President Obama signed yesterday an Executive Order that bans workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) workers of federal contractors. Executive Order 11246, issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson, prohibits federal contractors from discriminating “against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, … Continue Reading
OFCCP recently updated its Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the implementation of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act final rules. The most recent VEVRAA FAQs address questions regarding data collection analysis and the term “jobs filled,” self-identification at the pre-offer and post-offer stages, and hiring benchmarks. … Continue Reading
Today, the White House announced that President Obama will issue an executive order that bans federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. According to White House staff, the executive order will build upon existing protections that “generally prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the … Continue Reading
According to the Labor Department’s semiannual regulatory agenda, released on May 23, 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) plans to issue proposed rules regarding federal contractor compensation practices later this year. The rules are intended to create more transparency and combat pay discrimination in accordance with Executive Order 13665 and a presidential … Continue Reading
The First Circuit ruled last week that an earlier-filed False Claims Act complaint will preclude a later-filed complaint if it arises out of the same underlying facts, even if the allegations are not identical. The case concerns claims by two relators asserting claims against Bristol-Myers Squibb, Inc. (“BMS”) and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC (“Sanofi”). In May … Continue Reading
On April 28, 2014, a Massachusetts federal court granted dismissal of a proposed class action alleging that Raytheon violated Kuwaiti law by failing to pay overtime to employees working in Kuwait on federal defense contracts. Plaintiff Darrell Robinson argued that Kuwaiti law applied to his overtime claims as a consequence of language in Raytheon’s offer … Continue Reading
On March 4, 2014, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez released OFCCP’s FY 2015 budget request, which includes a request for over $107 million in funding for OFCCP’s operations. This amount represents a $3 million increase over 2014, including funding for an additional 10 full-time equivalent employees. Significant in the FY 2015 budget is a request … Continue Reading
On Friday, March 21, 2014, Federal District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in favor of the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs’ (“OFCCP”) recent rule implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, denying a challenge by the Associated Builders and Contractors trade organization (“ABC”). As a result, OFCCP’s Rule—“Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and … Continue Reading
The U.S. Solicitor General has asked the Supreme Court not to hear an appeal in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case against Takeda North America Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Fourth Circuit had dismissed the case because the plaintiff failed to plead the allegations of fraud with particularity. Specifically, the government stated that the case is not … Continue Reading
The Department of Defense (DoD) recently adopted a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The rule implements increased whistleblower protections for contractor and subcontractor employees from Section 827 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. The rule broadens and clarifies whistleblower protections for federal contractor and subcontractor employees. … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on Friday which would change reporting requirements for federal contractors under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”). Under the proposed rule, covered contractors would be required to report information about protected veteran employees “in the aggregate” instead of for each protected … Continue Reading
LGBT Rule Affecting Federal Contractors Will Become Effective April 8, 2015
By Connie Bertram and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Discrimination, OFCCP
DOL Issues Final Rule Implementing Executive Order 13672’s Prohibition on Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
By Connie Bertram and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Department of Labor, Discrimination
Lopez v. City of Lawrence Decision Criticizes “Disparate Impact” Analysis
By Andrew Aitchison, Connie Bertram and Daniel Davis on Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination
OFCCP Issues Two New “FAQs”
By Connie Bertram, Guy Brenner and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in OFCCP
OMB Approves Changes to OFCCP Scheduling Letter
By Andrew Aitchison, Connie Bertram and Daniel Davis on Posted in OFCCP
New VETS-4212 Rule Finalized – Contractors Must Report Aggregate Statistics
By Connie Bertram and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Veterans
OFCCP Proposes Rule Regarding Pay Transparency for Federal Contractors
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Compensation, OFCCP
New York Governor Cuomo Announces New Minimum Wage Policy for Thousands of Airport Workers
By Katharine Parker, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Employment Law
Connie Bertram Interviewed About Executive Order on Labor Violations
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Department of Labor, Discrimination, Employment Law, Labor Law
OFCCP Issues Proposed Rule Requiring Annual Compensation Disclosures
President Obama Amends Executive Order 11246 to Protect LGBT Workers of Government Contractors from Discrimination
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Discrimination, Employment Law, OFCCP
OFCCP Updates FAQs On Section 503 And Veterans’ Regulations
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Discrimination
Obama Administration Announces Expansion of Executive Order 11246 to Protect LGBT Workers of Federal Government Contractors
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Discrimination
OFCCP Expected to Issue Pay Data Tool and Retaliation Proposed Rules Later this Year
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Compensation, OFCCP
First Circuit Rules on Scope of FCA First-to-File Rule in U.S. v. Bristol Myers Squibb, Inc.
By Andrew Aitchison, Connie Bertram and Daniel Davis on Posted in Federal Acquisitions, Whistleblower
Federal Court Dismisses Overtime Claims Brought by Contractor Employee Working in Kuwait
By Connie Bertram, Daniel Davis and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Employment Law, Federal Acquisitions
Obama Requests Increased OFCCP Funding in FY 2015 Budget
By Connie Bertram and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in OFCCP
District Court Rejects Challenge to Section 503 Final Rule
By Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Disability, OFCCP
Government Recommends Supreme Court NOT Hear Takeda Case
By Connie Bertram and Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Federal Acquisitions
Department of Defense Adopts Final Rule Implementing Whistleblower Amendments
By Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Employment Law, Whistleblower
DOL Proposes Rule Requiring Contractors to Report Aggregate Veterans Information
By Andrew Aitchison on Posted in Labor Law
