Sunday, July 5, 2026Labor & Employment Law
Employment Law Information Networklocated at elinfonet.com since 200150+ results for “federal court”
Federal Gov't - General
For nearly a century, independent federal agencies have operated with a degree of insulation from presidential control. That changed dramatically on June 29, 2026.
HR Headlines
Last month, a federal court denied the government’s motion to dismiss an employer’s ERC refund suit—possibly a significant victory for employers. The post Federal court hands employers potential ERC refund win appeared first on HR Executive .
Federal Gov't - General
U.S. Supreme Court Holds that President Has Broad (but Limited) Authority to Fire Agency Leaders In a pair of widely expected opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for the president to fire the leaders of federal agencies. In the first opinion, Trump v. Slaughter , the Court held that the president can fire the heads of most federal agencies at will. But in the second, Trump v. Cook , the Court refused to extend that general rule to the Federal Reserve. tgelbman@littler.com Tue, 06/30…
Immigration - General
On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may proceed with terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Haiti and Syria, holding that federal courts may not review most challenges to how those decisions are made.
Federal Gov't - General
On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Trump v. Slaughter that the "for cause" removal provision for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) members is "contrary to the separation of powers enshrined in the [United States] Constitution." The decision could have broader implications for the president’s authority to remove officers of other federal agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
Title VII - EEO-1
On June 18, 2026, the nonprofit organization As You Sow filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) complaint against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to compel disclosure of Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data submitted by federal contractors for 2021 and 2022.
HR Headlines
Sean M. O’Brien, re-elected to a second term leading the union, has used a relationship with President Trump to end court-ordered corruption monitoring.
Law Firm News
Transportation Companies Face New Risks After Supreme Court Limits Arbitration for 'Last Mile' Drivers Laura Devane explains why employers may want to rethink their arbitration strategies after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that drivers who do not cross state lines cannot be forced to arbitrate employment disputes under federal law. Law.com Corporate Counsel View (Subscription required) mfelling@littler.com Wed, 06/17/2026 - 16:15
FLSA - General
Third Circuit Rejects “Overtime Gap Time” Claims Under FLSA In a significant development for employers in the Third Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that the FLSA does not permit recovery of “overtime gap time” wages. While the decision limits the scope of federal wage-and-hour liability in the Third Circuit, it leaves open the possibility of state law and contract remedies. Background tgelbman@littler.com Thu, 06/11/2026 - 10:17
Immigration - Visas
Takeaways A federal district court in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that the $100,000 fee President Trump imposed on certain H-1B petitions constitutes an unlawful tax and vacated the fee in its entirety. President Donald Trump’s Sept. 19, 2025, Presidential Proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” introduced a new $100,000 fee requirement for new... Continue Reading
HR Headlines
A federal judge struck down the $100,000 fee President Donald Trump imposed on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers. The government will appeal.
Immigration - General
On June 5, 2026, a federal court in Rhode Island vacated and set aside a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) freeze on adjudication of immigration benefit request applications, including work permits and green cards, for applicants from nearly forty countries subject to the administrat
Multinational Employers
On May 13, 2026, the German Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) held that a separate department of an establishment ( Betriebsteil ) in which a works council can be formed may exist even if its main establishment is located abroad (Ref. No. 7 ABR 7/25).
HR - Independent Contractors
On May 29, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found that while a certified class of performers on an adult streaming platform was correctly classified as independent contractors under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the class did not meet the standard to be
HR - Arbitration Issues
On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that workers who locally deliver goods that originate from other states may qualify for exemption from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) for transportation workers “engaged in … interstate commerce,” even if they do not cross state lines o
Multinational Employers
On October 23, 2025, Germany’s Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) ruled that a claim for “equal pay” against an employer can fail simply because the employee fails to specifically state the basis for the alleged “inequality” ( Ref. No. 8 AZR 269/24 ).
HR - General
On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a negligent-hiring claim against a freight broker is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA), raising the risk of liability for freight brokers.
HR - Arbitration Issues
On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that federal courts that have previously stayed claims in pending actions under Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) “have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate a resulting arbitral award on those claims”—even when the motions to con
Multinational Employers
A perennial issue in German labor law practice: If termination without notice is being considered due to a strong suspicion of a serious breach of duty (termination on suspicion), the employer must promptly hear the affected employee before issuing the termination. But what applies if the affected e
Sex Discrimination - Title IX
Federal Court Approves Landmark Title IX Settlement A federal judge in the Southern District of California has approved a class action settlement resolving Title IX claims against a state university brought by current and former female student‑athletes alleging inequities in athletic financial aid.
HR - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
On April 20, 2026, a coalition of higher education/academic and minority trade associations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland challenging President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that attaches direct contractual consequences to diversity, equity, and incl
Multinational Employers
The Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) clarified in August 2024 (decision of August 1, 2024 - Ref. No. 6 AZR 38/24 ) that employees covered by the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federal States ( Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder (TV-L)) are entitl
FLSA - Employers Covered
On April 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released a proposed rule for determining when multiple employers may be held jointly liable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that the department says stems from the “commonalities” of federal court precedents
Religious Discrimination - Reasonable Accommodation
A recent federal court case provides guidance on how to address an employee’s request for an accommodation based upon a sincerely held religious belief
Labor Law - NLRB
Sixth Circuit Points Out Limits of NLRB Adjudicatory Rulemaking In Brown-Forman v. NLRB , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit became the first federal circuit court to review the National Labor Relations Board’s recent Cemex decision. The court found the Board engaged in improper rulemak
HR - Education Industry
A federal court in Massachusetts has again halted the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey admissions data collection for an expanded group of colleges and universities not covered by a preliminary injunction applying to the public higher
Multinational Employers
Paid Leave after Termination: Key Takeaways from a New German Federal Labor Court Decision on Employment Contracts and Company Cars Once a German employment relationship has been terminated, employers often seek to remove the terminated employee from day-to-day operations as quickly as possible—whet
Multinational Employers
Rejection Due to Headscarf – German Federal Labor Court Holds Employer Liable for Compensation Rejecting an applicant because she wears a religious headscarf may prove costly for employers. In its decision on January 29, 2026 (8 AZR 49/25), the Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht , “BAG”) hel
Illinois - Wage & Hour
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Illinois that the state’s minimum wage law does not incorporate the federal Portal-to-Portal Act’s (PPA) exclusion for “preliminary or postliminary” employee activities could open the door to a wave of new wage-and-hour lawsuits by employees over time spent un
Federal Gov't - General
On April 3, 2026, A federal court in Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey against public institutions in seventeen plaintiff states for the duration of the litigatio
HR - Education Industry
A federal judge in Massachusetts has provisionally allowed two higher-education associations to intervene in ongoing litigation challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Admissions and Consumer Transparent Supplement (ACTS) survey and has further extended the survey’s completion deadline f
Multinational Employers
The German Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) recently ruled that a blanket release clause entitling the employer to exempt the employee from work “upon or following the issuance of a notice of termination—regardless of which party issued it”—while continuing to pay wages, constitutes
HR - Education Industry
A federal judge in Massachusetts will consider whether to block the Trump administration’s new admissions data reporting requirements for the state colleges and universities of a coalition of seventeen states that filed a lawsuit alleging the data collection is unlawfully burdensome and exceeds the
New Jersey - Law Against Discrimination
In a recent ruling, a federal court in New Jersey granted an employer’s request to transfer a remote employee’s suit alleging age discrimination and unlawful failure to grant medical accommodation under both federal and New Jersey state law to a federal district court in the employer’s home state of
FLSA - Overtime Exemptions
On February 11, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that recruiters for an information technology staffing firm were entitled to overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court reasoned that the recruiters should not be classified as
Multinational Employers
Employment contracts often contain clauses that contractually exclude employees’ entitlement to remuneration for the period until the validity of an employer’s dismissal of the employees has been clarified by a court. The Fifth Senate of the Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) has now
Labor Law - NLRB
On February 26, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) unveiled a new final rule that will withdraw the NLRB’s November 2023 final rule that sought to cast a wider net in determining joint employer status, which was struck down by a federal district court in March 2024. The new
FLSA - General
In Lomibao v. AGC Biologics, Inc. , No. 25-cv-00361 (February 5, 2026), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that a former employee’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims were validly released through a private separation agreement executed at the time of his employ
HR - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
On January 30, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral argument in Chicago Women in Trades v. Trump , No. 25-2144, concerning whether the Trump administration can require federal contractors and grantees to certify that they do not operate diversity, equity, and inclusion
Multinational Employers
The German Federal Labor Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) has addressed the permissibility of wearing religious headscarves at work on multiple occasions. In its decision of January 29, 2026 ( Ref. No. 8 AZR 49/25 ), the Eighth Senate has now extended this jurisprudence to another occupational ca
Sex Discrimination - Title IX
Title IX Preempts Public University Labor Contract Grievance Procedure, According to New Jersey Supreme Court The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on January 29, 2026, that Title IX—the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in all publicly-funded educational institutions—preempted the grievanc
Title VII - EEO-1
On February 5, 2026, the parties in Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor filed a stipulated request in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to lift the temporary stay that has paused the disclosure of federal contractors’ EEO-1 reports at the center of
Multinational Employers
The German quadrennial works council elections in spring 2026 are approaching. The modern workplace—with matrix structures, platform work, and home office arrangements—raises questions of who is entitled to vote, and where and when an independent establishment (or part thereof) exists. The German Fe
Benefits - HIPAA
HIPAA compliance requirements continue to evolve, and recent court decisions have understandably drawn significant attention. Last summer, we examined these developments in our Workplace Privacy Report article, analyzing how a Texas federal district court decision affected the HIPAA Reproductive Hea
Multinational Employers
Soccer fans are familiar with the nerve-wracking situation in which players and spectators have to wait for the video assistant referee (VAR) to review a decision during a soccer match, and a referee sometimes reverses his previous decision after a long wait. The referees in the third division may h
Labor Law - General
From evolving class action rules to regulatory updates and major U.S. Supreme Court cases, what happens at the federal level fuels a world of workplace decision-making. These are the essential legal trends and developments that will inform planning and compliance across industries in 2026.
HR - Education Industry
\\\\t The DOJ gambling indictments include 20 NCAA basketball players allegedly targeted for bribes to exceed their NIL compensation.
Multinational Employers
The year 2025 brought a wide range of employment law decisions with major practical impact. Both the Federal Labor Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) addressed key issues on protection against dismissal, discrimination, equal pay, and participation rights of works councils.
FLSA - General
Our “Year in Review” summarizes the most important wage and hour developments of 2025, including significant Department of Labor activity, U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate court decisions, and state law changes, including new state minimum wage rates for 2026. Click here to download the 2025
Immigration - General
On Dec. 31, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decisions to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal, finding that the terminations violated the Administrative Procedure Act (A