Ten former officials at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a statement on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Bills that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have been approved by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Legislation modifying the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has been introduced in the House of Representatives. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released minor changes to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

EEOC Former Officials Address DEI Initiatives – Ten former officials at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a statement  with information on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The statement is in response to acting EEOC chair Andrea Lucas releasing a statement on What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work. The statement by the former EEOC officials believes that the EEOC document from the acting Chair “ignores important aspects of applicable law, as well as the reality that proactive efforts are still needed in America’s workplaces to provide equal opportunity for all employees and applicants...”

The document from the former EEOC officials addresses several issues including: an employer’s interest in diversity, training to promote inclusion, belonging, and equal opportunity, and employee resource groups. The statement also discusses what they believe to be legally permissible efforts to promote equal opportunity. One effort is for employers to expand their talent acquisition strategy and “increase outreach to areas where they may not have previously recruited.” The former EEOC officials recommended reviewing job qualifications and selection criteria. As an example, they cite that requiring a bachelor's degree may not be necessary to perform a job and this would increase the number of people who could compete for the position. Collecting worker demographic information to ensure compliance with all civil rights laws was a final effort mentioned in the statement.

The former EEOC officials concluded that the information they shared will “help employers build healthy and respectful workplace cultures, break down stereotypes and favoritism, expand opportunity, and more strongly anchor employment decisions in merit and success.”

House Committee Approves Two Workforce Bills – The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved two workforce related bills that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). H.R. 2262, the Flexibility for Workers Education Act was introduced by Representative Ashley Hinton (R-IA) and would amend the FLSA to provide that time spent attending an education or training program would be excluded from hours worked if participation occurs outside the regular working hours of the employee, is voluntary, and the employee does not perform any work for the employer during the time spent participating in the training program. According to Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, “This bill improves the FLSA by ensuring there are no disincentives for employers to offer voluntary professional development opportunities to workers.”

H.R. 2270, Empowering Employer Child Care and Elder Care Solutions Act was introduced by Representative Mark Messmer (R-IN) and would amend the FLSA to exclude from the regular rate of pay any reimbursements by the employer for child or dependent care services. Representative Walberg stated, “This bill would encourage employers to offer childcare and elder care benefits that employees greatly value.” The bills need to be considered next by the full House of Representatives.

PWFA Legislation Introduced – Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced the Love Them Both Act (H.R. 2644) that would prevent the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from including in the regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) coverage for abortions or related services. According to Representative Miller “Allowing abortion under this law contradicts its purpose.” The bill has been referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce on which Representative Miller serves.

EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas has indicated her opposition to portions of the PWFA regulations and plans to revisit them when there is a quorum of commissioners. Additionally, in February, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a decision in the case of State of Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finding that seventeen states have standing to challenge parts of the PWFA regulations concerning reasonable accommodation for employees who are seeking an abortion. The case was remanded to the District Court, which ruled previously that the states lacked standing.

Changes Made to I-9 Form

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released minor changes to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. According to USCIS, the changes include renaming the fourth checkbox in Section 1 from a noncitizen authorized to work to an alien authorized to work. The revised I-9 Form has an expiration date of 5/31/27 and previous editions of the I-9 Form remain valid until their expiration dates. This modification reverses changes that were made by the Biden Administration.

Neil Reichenberg is the former executive director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. He is an attorney, a frequent writer and speaker on public policy and human resource issues, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University. For questions or additional information, contact Reichenberg at neilreichenberg@yahoo.com.