A New Enforcement Focus: When “Preference” Becomes Discrimination Against U.S. Workers

When employers think about discrimination risk, they usually focus on familiar protected categories such as race, sex, ethnicity, age, disability, or religion. But a recent settlement announced by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) underscores a growing and less understood enforcement area: discrimination against U.S. workers based on citizenship and…
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Why Companies Outsource: The Free-Market Realities Shaping the Skilled Labor Crisis

PART II — Why Companies Outsource: The Free-Market Realities Shaping the Skilled Labor Crisis The federal push to bring jobs back to the United States cannot be understood in isolation. Employers do not outsource simply to cut corners, they outsource because global economic pressures, labor shortages, and structural educational barriers make it difficult to fill…
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Understanding the Skilled Labor Crisis: Government Reforms and Global Market Dynamics Every Employer Must Navigate

This two-part article offers a clear and timely look at the forces reshaping today’s labor market. Part I examines the shifting regulatory expectations that are redefining employers’ compliance obligations, while Part II explores the free-market pressures that continue to drive companies toward global and outsourced talent. Together, these insights provide a comprehensive view of how…
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Part I: The New Compliance Landscape Under EO 14173

In her recent remarks, former OFCCP Director Catherine Eschbach emphasized that the compliance environment for federal contractors is undergoing a profound transformation under Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” She explained that this order establishes a “whole-of-government approach” to identifying and eliminating unlawful DEI practices, meaning that oversight will no longer…
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Proactive Compliance in the Post-EO 14173 Era: A Practical Guide to Self-Auditing

Eight months after the issuance of Executive Order 14173, the federal contracting community has entered a new compliance era, one defined not by the creation of Affirmative Action Plans, but by the ability to prove nondiscrimination through certification. The transition from Executive Order 11246 to EO 14173 may have simplified paperwork, but it also raised…
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