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DOD's Affirmative Action Program Unconstitutional

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.06.08

The Federal Circuit in Rothe Dev. Corp. v. DOD (Nov. 4, 2008) has struck down as unconstitutional DOD's program under "section 1207" setting a goal of 5% of its contract dollars to small disadvantaged firms by giving them certain competitive advantages. The court found that Congress had not had before it sufficient evidence of specific discrimination in DOD contracting to satisfy the strict scrutiny standard required for legislation based on racial classifications.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.05.26

DOL’s Proposed Independent Contractor Rule Reverts to Prioritize Two Core Factors – Likely Limiting Misclassification Claims by Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed another revision to independent contractor regulations, one that would provide for more leeway in classifying workers as contractors. DOL’s proposed rule, published on February 26, 2026, would rescind the Biden DOL’s March 2024 independent contractor regulation and reinstate a framework substantially tracking the prior Trump rule of January 2021. The proposed rule would also apply the narrower analysis to worker classifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The comment period closes in late April 2026; until then, the 2024 rule remains in effect for purposes of private litigation....