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By: Dawn M. Lurie and Greg Morano*

Seyfarth Synopsis:  On October 31, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced that it would preserve the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador.  To comply with the federal court order in Ramos et al. v. Nielsen et al, DHS’s Federal Register Notice (“Notice”) protects the TPS designation for each country and provides automatic extensions to existing work authorization documents.  TPS and related documentation for Nicaragua and Sudan are now automatically extended through April 2, 2019.  The TPS expiration dates for El Salvador and Haiti remain unchanged; September 9, 2019 for El Salvador and July 22, 2019 for Haiti.

TPS: What is the Status of the Program?

The Trump Administration attempted to terminate TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador.  On October 3, 2018, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the termination of TPS and loss of work authorization for TPS beneficiaries.  The court case is ongoing with DHS appealing the injunction order to a higher court.

If the court case is not fully resolved by the time a designated TPS is set to terminate, DHS will issue a Federal Register notice extending TPS documentation for nine months.  This means that your employees will continue to work without interruption, but you will need to update Forms I-9 with the “Auto-Extensions”.  For assistance with identifying automatically extended documents and executing the automatic extensions, see our prior post here.

If a higher court permits DHS to terminate TPS, the beneficiaries’ status will terminate either 120 days after the court order, or on the TPS termination date, whichever is later.

Seyfarth will continue to monitor the court case and provide updates.
Continue Reading DHS Complies With Court Order, Preserves TPS for Four Countries

By: Randy Johnson and Walt Mullon

OFCCP Director to Step Down. Earlier today, reports surfaced that the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Ondray Harris, would be stepping down from the role at the end of this week. Harris lasted less than 8 months on the job after being appointed to the position last December. Craig Leen, the deputy director at OFCCP, will serve as director on an acting basis. Leen is expected to continue the agency’s recent “business-friendly” approach when analyzing the pay practices of federal contractors as well as the office’s increased focus on apprenticeships.Continue Reading Seyfarth Shaw Policy Matters Newsletter – July 26, 2018

By: Randy Johnson and Walt Mullon

President Trump Signs Executive Order on Workforce Training. Earlier today, President Trump signed an executive order which aims to bolster vocational training, creates a national council for American workers, and establishes a workforce policy advisory board in a push to increase the number of skilled workers in the U.S. Alongside business executives, the President introduced the “Pledge to America’s Workers,” which commits employers to expanding on-the-job training and apprenticeships. The administration expects the pledge to lead to at least 500,000 new career opportunities for students and workers. Earlier this week, Ivanka Trump penned an op-ed in support of the new initiative, declaring that the administration hopes to “create a workforce culture that fosters and prioritizes life-long learning.”Continue Reading Seyfarth Shaw Policy Matters Newsletter – July 19, 2018

By: Randy Johnson and Walt Mullon

Trump Taps Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Vacancy. On Monday evening, President Trump nominated D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh is considered a reliable member of the Republican legal establishment with a solid record on issues from free speech, to religious liberty, to the Second Amendment. His credentials include clerking with Justice Anthony Kennedy, working for Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater investigation, and spending six years in the George W. Bush White House as a lawyer and eventually staff secretary to the president.

In his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh has cast dozens of votes to roll back rules and regulations. He has often concluded that agencies stretched their power too far and frequently found himself at odds with the Obama administration, including in dissents he wrote opposing net-neutrality rules and greenhouse-gas restrictions.Continue Reading Seyfarth Shaw Policy Matters Newsletter – July 12, 2018