Howell Law Group, PLLC

08/21/2026

ATTN. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS:

The OFCCP published its Section 503 Final Rule today in the Federal Register. Federal government contractors are no longer required to invite applicants/employees to self-identify as individuals with disabilities, collect disability-related data, or compare their workforces against OFCCP’s 7% utilization goal. The Final Rule also rescinds regulations implementing Executive Order 11246 and modifies Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act regulations.

Affected contractors must still take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities, assess the effectiveness of their outreach and recruitment efforts, comply with nondiscrimination requirements, and prepare a written Affirmative Action Plan each year. They will, however, no longer be burdened with collecting or evaluating disability data to make that assessment.

The U.S. Department of Labor is revising its implementing regulations for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 503). The revisions align the regulations with applicable law and recent executive orders, including Executive Order 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination...

08/20/2026

Howell Law Group is grateful to announce that Best Lawyers has named Melissa Jackson Howell as one of the Best Lawyers in America 2027 for both Employment Law and Labor and Employment Litigation.

Thank you to all who entrust us with your employment law needs!

https://www.bestlawyers.com/article/best-lawyers-awards-america-2027/8286

https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/melissa-j-howell/179457

Discover this year's Best Lawyers honorees and the trends shaping the legal profession in the 2027 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Ones to Watch.

08/05/2026

The United States Department of Justice recently released guidance concerning freedom of religion in the federal workplace. The guidance is a clear signal to private employers regarding the government’s stance on enforcement of Title VII following the Supreme Court’s Groff v. DeJoy decision.

Under Title VII, employers must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious needs, absent undue hardship. An accommodation poses an “undue hardship” only if it imposes a burden that is “substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business.” Temporary costs, voluntary shift swapping, occasional shift swapping, or administrative costs do NOT qualify as an undue hardship. Likewise, coworker animosity to a particular religion or religion in general, or to the notion of religious accommodation also does NOT establish undue hardship.

The guidance points out that employers generally should permit religious discussions, displays, invitations to worship, prayer groups, and other forms of expression unless they materially interfere with operations—which generally does not include coworker complaints—or constitute unlawful harassment.

Employers should review accommodation policies, supervisor training, documentation practices, and standards governing workplace religious expression to ensure compliance.

Today, the Department of Justice announced the release of updated guidance on federal protections for religious liberty, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to safeguarding the constitutional rights of religious individuals and organizations. The updated memorandum revises and expands upon...

08/05/2026

ATTN. FEDERAL CONTRACTORS: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires you to invite applicants and employees to self-identify as to disability using a form published by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). OFCCP just approved a new form OMB CC-305 (the same as the prior form except for the date), which you should start using immediately. You can find the new form here:

08/03/2026

The United States Department of Labor released an updated “Your Rights Under USERRA” poster. Please make sure your USERRA notice is up to date.

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

07/22/2026

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued two new opinion letters today addressing how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to the commuter travel of employees who spend part of their workday working at home. The two letters are:

FLSA2026-9: Whether mid-day travel between an employee’s home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee’s workday.

FLSA2026-10: Whether time spent by an employee receiving pages, calling clients and other workers to schedule appointments, and driving from home to the first client appointment is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA.

Details regarding each letter can be found at:

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

07/01/2026

REMINDER: Starting today, you must not seek or rely on a job applicant’s compensation history during the hiring process. Also, you must include a good faith pay range in job postings.

Send a message to learn more

07/01/2026

Virginia has created a new prohibition to protect workers from immigration-related threats or coercion. Employers may not use or threaten to use an employee’s (or the employee’s family member’s) immigration status to coerce the employee into refraining from exercising rights or engaging in protected activity under Virginia’s minimum wage or wage payment statutes.

Employees have 180 days from the date an implicit or explicit threat is made to file a complaint. Employers are subject to an injunction; civil penalties (up to $5,000 for first violation, $9,000 for second, and $12,000 for subsequent violations), with each coercive act or threat treated as a separate violation per affected employee; as well as payment for any underlying violation (e.g., failure to pay minimum wage and overtime).

06/24/2026

UPDATE FOR VA EMPLOYERS WITH 5 OR MORE EMPLOYEES:

Virginia recently enacted changes to its IRA Savings Program. Under HB 176, Virginia now defines any employer with 5 or more employees as an “eligible employer.” VA Code 2.2-2751(D) requires all eligible employers to participate in the Program unless the employer offers a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan in compliance with federal law for its employees (e.g., § 401(a), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k), or 408(p)). The law can be found at: https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB176

Information about enrollment can be found at: https://www.retirepathva.com/

RetirePath was created by Virginia state law to expand access to retirement savings and provide more Virginians with a path to economic security.

05/29/2026

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued four new opinion letters today relating to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA):

• FLSA2026-5: Discusses whether an exempt employee can perform additional work in a secondary role at an hourly rate and related overtime implications

• FLSA2026-6: Discusses a quarterly bonus program where the bonus was calculated as a fixed percentage of employees’ total earnings—including overtime pay; employers do not need to recalculate employees’ regular rates or pay additional overtime on the bonus

• FLSA2026-7: Discusses whether time spent during a meal break voluntarily traversing an employer’s premises and passing through a controlled access entry and exit is compensable under the FLSA when the employer allots employees a 30-minute meal period during which they are allowed to remain on the premises

• FLSA2026-8: Discusses whether certain pre-shift activities by hospital employees are compensable work and, if so, whether the hospital’s practice of rounding employees' clock-in time to their scheduled shift start time is permissible.

The full opinion letters can be found at:

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.