Significant changes to federal contracting rules are reshaping how businesses interact with the U.S. government, particularly when it comes to compliance, workforce policies, and pricing strategies. These changes stem largely from Executive Order 14173 (EO 14173), signed in January 2025, which revokes long‑standing affirmative action requirements and introduces new certification obligations for contractors.
For companies that rely on federal funding or work on federally supported projects, understanding the new expectations is critical to staying compliant and minimizing risk.
Continue Reading New Rules for Government Contractors: Compliance Changes for the
Construction Industry

Employers operating in Columbus, Ohio, have approximately six months left to prepare for a significant change in hiring practices. Effective January 1, 2027, the City of Columbus will begin enforcing its pay transparency requirements under Ordinance 2898-2025, which will require covered employers to include a “reasonable salary range or scale” in employment postings.
While some employers may view this as a simple change to job advertisements, the reality is that pay transparency laws often expose broader compensation, equity, and compliance issues that organizations should address before salary ranges become public.
Continue Reading The Countdown to Columbus Pay Transparency: What Employers Should Be Doing
Now

Employers that rely on transportation workers, delivery drivers, and gig drivers may face significantly increased litigation risk following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. In Flowers Foods v. Brock, the Court ruled that “last mile” local delivery drivers qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for “transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce,” even if the drivers do not cross state lines. As a result, some transportation workers and gig drivers now have the green light to pursue their disputes in a court of law, even if they signed a private arbitration agreement with their employer/company.
Continue Reading “Last Mile” Drivers are NOT Covered by Mandatory Arbitration Agreements

Although they may not realize it, even non-union employers face risk under the National Labor Relations Act. Everyday workplace decisions can trigger scrutiny and while the enforcement climate is shifting, the underlying risk remains. For employers, this is no longer a niche legal issue. It’s a legitimate business risk.
For a growing number of employers, the concerns keeping them awake include whether their employee handbook violates federal labor law, whether a supervisor’s offhand comment during a tense performance review could trigger an unfair labor practice charge, or whether an employee group text complaining about the schedule somehow became protected concerted…
Continue Reading Inside the NLRB: What Non-Union Employers Need to Know About NLRA Risk in
2026

Many employers underestimate that liability under the FMLA extends well beyond denying leave for an unlawful reason. It can arise from everyday decisions about communication, workload, and expectations during that leave. Over the past few months, courts have weighed in on where that line can be drawn, and as this area of law continues to evolve, employers should become intimately familiar with this ever-changing legal landscape.
Continue Reading OOTO But Not Out of the Woods: Legal Risks for Employers During and After
FMLA Leave

In a unanimous decision issued May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that negligent hiring/selection claims against freight brokers are not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA).
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Finds FAAAA Does Not Preempt Negligent Hiring/Selection
Claims Against Freight Brokers

Join labor & employment senior counsel, Joey Wright, and partner, Peter Hansen, for an interactive Breakfast Briefing that walks through a real-world investigation scenario from start to finish.
Using a “whodunit” approach, this session will guide attendees through key decision points, helping employers understand how to conduct effective, defensible internal investigations that hold up under scrutiny.
Continue Reading Register Now for Breakfast Brieifing: Workplace Whodunit – Internal
Investigations That Hold Up in Court

All Wisconsin employers know the basics of the state’s workers’ compensation statute. If an employee is hurt on the job, they may be entitled to benefits under workers’ compensation insurance. However, many don’t realize that if they fail to bring the employee back to work when suitable employment is available, the employer may be exposed to liability in the form of paying the employee up to one year of wages and benefits. This risk comes from Wisconsin’s Unreasonable Refusal to Rehire (URR) statute. Although the consequences of this statute are significant, it is frequently overlooked until it is too late.
Continue Reading Wisconsin’s Unreasonable Refusal to Rehire Statute: A Costly Trap for
Employers

Federal and state prevailing wage mandates are colliding on construction projects in Illinois, exposing owners, developers, and contractors to conflicting compliance obligations and increased project costs. With the enactment of Illinois HB 1189, projects that long fell exclusively under the federal prevailing wage law (Davis-Bacon) may now also be subject to the state’s prevailing wage law mandates.
While the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has issued guidance for contractors, there is little clarity on how to reconcile fundamental and incompatible differences between state and federal prevailing wage laws. Contractors operating in this environment must understand where these mandates conflict and…
Continue Reading Are Your Federal Construction Projects Now Subject to the Illinois
Prevailing Wage? What Contractors Must Know

If your company offers health benefits, someone has probably asked about GLP‑1 coverage in the last six months. The drugs work, employees want access, and the sticker price through traditional pharmacy channels can run north of $1,000 per month per employee. Direct‑to‑consumer platforms like TrumpRx.gov, Hims, Lilly Direct, and NovoCare now offer the same medications between $149 and $449 per month, cash pay. The obvious question: can we reimburse employees through an HRA for purchases made through these channels?
Continue Reading GLP‑1s, Direct‑to‑Consumer Pricing, and the HRA Opportunity Most Employers
Are Missing

On April 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that would set a single standard for joint employer status under the FLSA, FMLA, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (“MSPA”). The proposed rule would offer clarity for employers around when multiple employers are jointly responsible for protecting employee wages and other rights.
Continue Reading DOL Issues Proposed Rule on Joint Employer Status Under FLSA and FMLA

The U.S. Department of Labor has revised OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards, signaling that OSHA will continue enforcing heat safety through inspections rather than the rollout of a new federal heat standard.
The updated NEP, which takes effect immediately and continues through April 10, 2031, refines how OSHA targets employers for heat-related inspections when the heat index is expected to be 80 degrees or higher.
Continue Reading OSHA Revises Heat Enforcement Program, Signaling Continued Enforcement
Instead of a Federal Heat Rule