Companies Seek Supreme Court Review of Federal Contractor Minimum Wage

Recreational touring companies are seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of the U.S. 10th Circuit Appeals Court decision upholding President Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage requirement for federal contractors. The companies claim the wage hike was beyond the president’s authority under the Procurement Act. According to the companies, the “legal problem the mandate creates is straightforward: The Procurement Act simply does not authorize the president to impose a minimum wage on federal contractors.”

According to the petition, the 10th Circuit decision creates a split with the 6th and 11th Circuits over the scope of the Procurement Act, a split with the 5th Circuit over the application of the major questions doctrine, and “runs headlong into the nondelegation doctrine because it interprets the Act to bless the president with ‘nearly unfettered power’ to impose ‘any conditions at any time’ on federal permittees or contractors as long as he considers the conditions necessary.”

Penn State Agrees to Pay $703K to Settle Compensation Claims

Pennsylvania State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest and enter into a conciliation agreement with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to resolve alleged gender pay discrimination against female employees. The agency alleged that Penn State paid 65 women employees less than men holding similar positions in facilities operations and maintenance, extension education, and senior administration jobs. In addition to paying the back wages, Penn State agreed to take steps to make sure its compensation practices and policies are free from discrimination.

OFCCP Announces New Deputy Director

Anupa Iyer Geevarghese was just announced as the non-career Deputy Director for the OFCCP. She previously served as the chief of staff for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). As chief of staff, she collaborated closely with ODEP’s assistant secretary and other U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) leaders to identify and implement strategies for increasing the number and quality of employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Geevarghese came to the DOL from the U.S. Department of Defense, where she served as a subject matter expert and senior disability policy advisor for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. Prior to that, she worked for seven years at the Equal Employment Opportunity commission (EEOC), where she was instrumental in implementing updates strengthening Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

H. Juanita Beecher is an attorney with FortneyScott in Washington, D.C. You can reach her at nbeecher@fortneyscott.com. 

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