Revised EEO-1 “Component 2” Stayed Effective Immediately
On August 29, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) notified the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that it is initiating a review and immediate stay of the new EEO-1 pay reporting requirements (Component 2) that were scheduled to take effect with the next filing cycle in March 2018.
The previously approved EEO-1 form, which collects data on race, ethnicity, and gender by occupational category, will remain in effect. Employers should plan to comply with the earlier approved EEO-1 reporting requirements (Component 1) by the previously set filing date of March 2018.
Read the EEOC press release
DACA Phase Out
On September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced and initiated the phase-out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DHS will provide a limited, six-month window during which it will consider certain requests for DACA and applications for work authorization, under specific parameters. Read the memorandum from Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke for details.
All DACA benefits are provided on a two-year basis; therefore, individuals who currently have protection under DACA will be allowed to retain both DACA status and their employment authorization documents (EADs) until they expire. Next, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will adjudicate, on an individual, case-by-case basis:
- Properly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated applications for EADs accepted as of September 5, 2017.
- Properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for EADs from current beneficiaries accepted as of September 5, 2017, and from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018, but whose documents were received by October 5, 2017.
The USCIS will reject all applications for initial requests under DACA received after September 5, 2017.
Read the USCIS press release
FLSA Overtime Rule Overturned
On August 31, 2017, a federal judge in Texas overturned an Obama-era federal overtime rule (final rule) that would have:
- Increased the minimum salary required for the white collar exemption from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year (from $455 per week to $913 per week).
- Increased the required annual salary for highly compensated employees from $100,000 to $134,004.
- Automatically updated the salary and compensation levels every three years beginning January 1, 2020 to account for inflation.
The court’s ruling that the final rule was invalid is effective immediately.
Read the Decision