Changes in the H-1B Visa Process

By Marianna Michael

It is time to begin working on your H-1B visa petitions for the fiscal year beginning October 2019.  The H-1B visa offers employers a means to temporarily hire international workers for positions that cannot be filled by U.S. workers.  There is a cap of 85,000 visas which can be issued, of which 65,000 are allocated for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and 20,000 are allocated for individuals who have a master’s degree or higher.  The H-1B visa is the method way many companies use to hire individuals with highly technical skills in science, technology, engineering and math.  The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) generally receives an overload of applications; 199,000 petitions were filed in 2018.

In addition to the high number of applications, there are other challenges for employers desiring to use the H-1B visas.  First, President Trump issued an executive order, “Buy American and Hire American: Putting Americans First,” which is

President Trump Proposes Significant Cuts to DOL

By Courtney Samford

President Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 earlier this month.  The proposal, which is entitled “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” purports to “put[] the needs of its own people first” by prioritizing national security and public safety.   To account for increases in these areas, the budget acknowledges that many “Government agencies and departments will …. experience cuts …. to achieve greater efficiency and to eliminate wasteful spending[.]”

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) is no exception to President Trump’s proposed cuts.  The America First Budget requests a total of $9.6 billion for the DOL, which equates to a 21 percent decrease from fiscal year 2017.  In particular, the budget seeks to

U.S. Supreme Court remands transgender bathroom case back to Fourth Circuit

By Courtney Samford

On March 6, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a case involving a transgender high school student back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The case, Gloucester County School Board, Petitioner v.  G. G., By His Next Friend and Mother, Deirdre Grimm, focuses on the right of a transgender boy, Gavin Grimm, to use the bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity at his public high school.  Grimm, who was born a girl, used the boys’ restrooms with the approval of school administration until the Gloucester County School Board enacted a policy that required all students to use the bathroom that corresponded with their gender assigned at birth.

Grimm filed suit, alleging that the school board’s policy discriminated against him in violation of Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.  The lower court dismissed Grimm’s Title IX claim.   Following an appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed, finding that the lower court did not

United States Supreme Court to Resolve Class Action Waiver Issue

By Michelle D. Wyrick

In a matter of great interest to many employers, last week, the United States Supreme Court agreed to decide whether arbitration agreements that prohibit employees from pursuing class and collective remedies are enforceable. Courts are currently divided on the issue. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in three cases, Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis, from the Seventh Circuit, Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, from the Ninth Circuit, and NLRB v. Murphy Oil, USA, from the Fifth Circuit, to resolve the question.

The dispute pits the savings clause of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §2, which allows invalidation of arbitration agreements only “upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract” against employees’ rights to engage in protected, concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. §157. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) takes the position that provisions in arbitration agreements requiring employees to waive their rights to pursue class or collective actions violate employees’ rights to engage in protected, concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In May 2016, the Seventh Circuit agreed and