Blogs

Employment Law

Employment Law Landmines for Federal Contractors

Federal contractors operate in one of the most heavily regulated employment environments in the country. In addition to traditional employment laws, contractors must navigate obligations tied to federal contracts, agency oversight, and specialized whistleblower protections. Because of this layered regulatory framework, workplace issues that might be routine in other industries can quickly escalate into litigation,…

June 29, 2026

Employment Law

What is Worrying Our Nonprofit Clients – Part III: Staffing and Talent

As part three of our series, we turn to people. Money may be the traditional first and most accurate answer when asking what is worrying nonprofit leaders; however, staffing and talent are close behind. In most organizations, these two topics are really the same issue. Nonprofits do not execute their missions in the abstract. They…

June 25, 2026

Employment Law

Assumption of Risk After Post v. The Pines Horse Farm: Why Virginia Businesses Should Revisit Their Customer Waivers

Does your Virginia business provide activities that pose a meaningful risk of physical injury such as horseback riding, fitness classes, recreational sports, camps, or similar customer-facing services? Does your business rely on customer “waivers” of liability to manage the risks inherent in such activities? That instinct is understandable. A written agreement that warns customers of…

June 22, 2026

Employment Law

Bonuses and Overtime: When Payroll Math Becomes an Employer Liability

Employers who pay bonuses to nonexempt employees need to understand a deceptively simple wage-and-hour rule: overtime must be paid based on the employee’s regular rate of pay, not merely on the employee’s base hourly rate. When an employee receives commissions, shift differentials, incentive pay, production bonuses, attendance bonuses, or other compensation tied to their work…

June 22, 2026

Employment Law

Back to Fundamentals: The DOL’s Proposed Joint Employer Rule and the Return of ‘Economic Reality’

On April 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a long-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The proposed rule seeks to impose a single analytical framework…

May 27, 2026

Employment Law

Virginia’s New Paid Leave Era Has Arrived: What 2026’s Paid Family Leave and Paid Sick Leave Laws Mean for Employers—and Why Preparation Can’t Wait

Virginia employers are standing at the edge of one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation the Commonwealth has seen in decades. During the 2026 General Assembly session, lawmakers enacted two sweeping paid leave measures — the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) insurance program and a new statewide paid sick leave mandate —…

May 5, 2026

Employment Law

The Meta AI Glasses Lawsuit: What It Signals for Employers Using (or Confronting) Wearable Technology in the Workplace

Smart glasses, fitness trackers, smartwatches, body cams, and location-based wearables have moved quickly from novelty to mainstream tools, both in consumer life and in the workplace. For employers, these technologies hold the promise of productivity, safety, and efficiency gains. They also create a rapidly fast-expanding set of privacy, surveillance, and compliance risks that are still…

April 27, 2026

Employment Law

OSHA Doubles Down on Workplace Heat Enforcement: What Employers Need to Know About the Expanded Heat National Emphasis Program

With record spring heat impacting the eastern half of the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has taken significant additional steps to elevate workplace heat hazards to the forefront of its enforcement agenda. On April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a substantial update to OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP)…

April 23, 2026

Employment Law

March 2026 OHR Guidance Highlights Ongoing Harassment Reporting and Training Obligations in the District

March 2026 materials from the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR) provide employers with a useful snapshot of the agency’s continuing focus on harassment reporting, workplace investigations, and employee training obligations. Although OHR did not release a formal new harassment rule package in March, the agency did update its notices, fact sheets, and…

April 20, 2026

Employment Law

DEI Re-Defined: The New Compliance Fault Line for Federal Contractors and Grant Recipients

On March 26, 2026, the White House fundamentally reframed how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are evaluated in the context of federal contracts. With the issuance of Executive Order 14398, “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors,” DEI is no longer treated primarily as a cultural or human-capital initiative. Instead, for covered contractors and subcontractors,…

April 2, 2026