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Kris D. Meade is co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Labor & Employment Group. He is also a member of the firm's Management Board and Executive Committee. He counsels and represents employers in the full range of employment and traditional labor law matters, including individual and class action lawsuits filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, ERISA, and companion state statutes. Kris represents employers in connection with union organizing campaigns, collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, and unfair labor practice litigation. In 2020, Chambers USA recognized Kris as a leading labor and employment lawyer.

Two weeks after President Trump issued an “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” which bans federal contractors from utilizing training that “inculcates in its employees any form of race or sex stereotyping,” the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has issued its first guidance on the EO.

Notably, the guidance

On August 3, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order framed as “Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American Workers.” The Order declares the “policy of the executive branch to create opportunities for United States workers to compete for jobs, including jobs created through Federal contracts,” and directs

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP or “the Agency”) remains busy, and there are several recent developments of which all contractors should be aware. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has finally approved the Agency’s new Scheduling Letters, and the OFCCP will soon begin using those for

On April 16, 2020, the White House published non-binding guidelines for states and localities to consider in determining when and how to reopen businesses and schools and lift other COVID mitigation restrictions. Entitled “Opening up America Again” (Guidelines), the Guidelines are a set of recommendations for a three-phased reopening in jurisdictions that satisfy broad “gating

Following the announcement of the White House’s Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (EO) and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Artificial Intelligence Strategy (AI Strategy) in February, as reported on here, the United States recently endorsed the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Council’s (OECD) Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence (Recommendation) –

On January 13, 2017, the FAR Council released a final rule (available here) that: (1) prohibits agencies from contracting with entities that require employees/subs to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that restrict the lawful reporting of waste, fraud, or abuse; and (2) requires bidders on federal contracts to certify that they do not utilize such agreements. Starting on January 19, 2017, the rule will apply to all solicitations and contracts using fiscal year 2015 funds and subsequent fiscal year funds, unless the solicitation or contract already contains a comparable provision/clause.
Continue Reading Final FAR Rule on Internal Confidentiality Agreements: Considerations for Contractors Before Employees Sign on the Dotted Line

After a U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining implementation of the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” final rule (discussed here), OFPP issued a Memorandum for Chief Acquisition Officers on October 25 instructing federal agencies to refrain from implementing the enjoined portions of the final rule, and to “immediately” amend any solicitations containing

On October 24, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction, enjoining the Government from implementing the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” final rule (with a small carve out for the “paycheck transparency” requirements). Specifically, the Court enjoined the Government from (i) implementing any portion of the FAR

Many federal government contractors and subcontractors have expressed valid concerns about the new “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” final rule (and accompanying Department of Labor guidance), which among other things will require companies bidding on covered contracts and subcontracts to disclose “administrative merits determinations,” “arbitral award or decisions,” and “civil judgments” rendered against the company

On Wednesday, September 7th, 2016 at 12 PM Eastern, join us for a webinar titled “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Final Rule and Guidance: What You Need to Know. During this 90-minute webinar, a team of Crowell & Moring government contracts and labor & employment attorneys will discuss how contractors bidding on