Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we’re covering four key employer-focused developments:

• a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) authority,
• another Fifth Circuit decision restoring pregnant worker protections,
• the White House’s reversal of a key non-compete executive order, and
• a court ruling against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) early right-to-sue policy.

Earlier this summer, the Washington, D.C. Council (“Council”) narrowly passed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget (the “Amendment”) partially repealing portions of Initiative 82 and restructuring how tipped workers’ wages will rise over the coming years. If enacted, the Amendment would also impose new pay transparency requirements for all D.C. employers, not just those with tipped workers, and will require periodic studies of the District’s restaurant industry and tipped worker pay.

Meet Courtney McFate, a skilled employment litigator with a knack for balancing a wide range of compliance and business objectives.

In this one-on-one interview, Courtney joins fellow Epstein Becker Green attorney George Whipple to discuss her evolution from a rule-following litigator to a trusted business advisor who helps clients navigate complex legal landscapes without compromising their goals.

Courtney shares her experience in guiding businesses through U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) wage and hour audits, emphasizing the importance of preemptive internal audits to mitigate risks and save millions in potential penalties. She also highlights her approach to evidence preservation and strategic planning when facing wage and hour class actions, ensuring her clients are prepared and protected.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we dig into the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’s new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action notice standard, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) relaunched Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, and the DOL’s scaled-back approach to wage and hour investigation penalties.

Eligible Illinois employees are now entitled to up to 40 hours of paid leave annually to serve on military funeral honors detail thanks to an amendment (the “Amendment”) to Illinois’s Military Leave Act that Governor Pritzker signed on August 1, 2025. The new law benefits qualified employees of Illinois employers with more than 50 employees and took immediate effect to allow paid leave for those qualified to participate in a military funeral honor guard.

The Amendment limits the benefit to those who are qualified to participate in a “Funeral Honors Detail,” an honor guard detail provided for the funeral of any veteran in compliance with federal regulations. A Funeral Honors Detail performs specified services at a veteran’s funeral ceremony, such as folding the United States flag and presenting it to the veteran’s family, or playing “Taps” at a veteran’s funeral.

The Amendment applies to Illinois employers with at least 51 employees, but it is silent as to whether this count includes employees beyond the state’s borders. Covered employers must provide at least eight hours of paid military funeral honors detail leave (“Funeral Honors Detail Leave”) per month, up to 40 hours per calendar year, to qualified employees.

What You Need to Know

• The Trump Administration has shifted away from Biden-era rules related to certain investments, like alternative asset investments, ESG, and cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans.
• Plan fiduciaries still need to proceed with caution.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we’re focusing on the employer implications of new guidance from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

New guidance from Attorney General Bondi urges federal funding recipients to reassess DEI programs to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws. This memo highlights actions deemed “unlawful DEI,” including race-based scholarships, preferential hiring, and misapplied “neutral” criteria.

Epstein Becker Green’s Lauri Rasnick unpacks these developments.

The discussion of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the workplace typically focuses on whether the AI tool and model has a discriminatory impact. This means examining whether the AI output creates an unlawful disparate impact against individuals belonging to a protected category.

However, that discussion rarely centers on the types of training data used, and whether the training data itself could have a harmful effect on the workers tasked with training the AI model.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we examine a recent pivotal ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that could significantly influence how employers handle Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions.

In Harrington v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., the Ninth Circuit ruled that, in FLSA collective actions, federal courts must evaluate personal jurisdiction before allowing notices to out-of-state employees in nationwide claims—a move that strengthens employers’ ability to challenge these cases.

Epstein Becker Green attorney Courtney McFate describes the Harrington ruling and shares insights to help employers adapt and minimize costly lawsuits.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we look at the potential restoration of a quorum at the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”), the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) deregulatory initiatives, and lessons from a high-profile workplace incident at a Coldplay concert.