As promised in our previous post, today we conclude our predictions on President Obama’s 2016 executive activity. While we believe the President’s final executive orders will target immigration and perhaps even corporate political expenditures, we predict executive agency action will cover a broad range of pressing labor and employment issues. With federal legislative gridlock expected to continue through 2016, employers should prepare themselves for a barrage of agency activity, especially from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), and Department of Labor (“DOL”). Our summary is below.
Expected Agency Activity of 2016
Based on the 2015 Supreme Court decisions in Young v. UPS and EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. and the EEOC’s interest in systematic discrimination in the workplace, we predict the EEOC will focus heavily on companies’ policies regarding pregnancy and religious discrimination and accommodation in 2016. As a refresher, in Young the Court held a genuine factual dispute existed as to whether UPS provided more favorable treatment to at least some employees whose situation “cannot reasonably be distinguished” from Ms. Young’s —e.g., workers unable to lift up to 70 pounds due to reasons other than pregnancy limitations such as a workplace injury or a recognized disability. In Abercrombie (blogged about here) the Court concluded an employer violates Title VII by rejecting an applicant in order to avoid making a religious accommodation, even if the employer only has an “unsubstantiated suspicion” that the applicant may eventually request an accommodation.
Along with discrimination/accommodation policies, we predict the EEOC and NLRB will focus on company-wide social media policies in 2016. While the NLRB has been hounding employers on social media policies since 2010, the EEOC did not really begin gathering information on the issue until 2014. We believe 2016 will be the year the EEOC begins targeting employers’ social media policies to evidence discrimination. We also predict the EEOC’s focus on gender identity discrimination and the NLRB’s focus on FLSA class action settlements will continue with full force into 2016.
With the DOL’s Final Rule on overtime exemption updates expected to roll out this year, we predict the agency will focus on wage-hour reform and that employers will be expected to get into compliance sooner rather than later. Although Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith stated in November 2015 that final guidelines will not likely be issued until “late 2016,” we believe the DOL will push them out before November’s presidential election. Employers should expect the Final Rule to increase the minimum salary exemption requirement from $455/week to $970/week. We would not be surprised if the DOL also finalizes revisions to the duties test, which is a factor along with salary level used to determine whether an employee qualifies under a white collar exemption to minimum wage and overtime rules.
Although the 2016 federal legislation horizon looks bleak, President Obama and his executive agencies are poised for a busy final year. Stay tuned for further developments.
