Update Applicable to:

All employers

What happened?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced today that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance and maximize the enforcement of federal laws and regulations.

What are the details?

The MOU formalizes and increases coordination between the agencies through information sharing, joint investigations, training, and outreach. The document outlines procedures to be followed by both the EEOC and WHD as they together elevate workplace justice issues of mutual interest across the country.

This MOU is a voluntary agreement and is not intended to be legally binding, does not create any contractual obligations, and is not enforceable by any party, private person, or other third party.

The purpose of this MOU is to maximize and improve the enforcement of the federal laws administered by DOL/WHD and by the EEOC. This MOU will encourage enhanced law enforcement and greater coordination between the agencies through information sharing, joint investigations, training, and outreach.

As a result of this MOU, employers can expect to see an increase in investigations and may be subject to more scrutiny when engaging in practices that allegedly infringe or violate federal law. Also, employers can now expect that reported data and other information will be shared between the agencies, resulting in the commencement of a joint investigation where necessary.

For more information, please see the links below:

Official EEOC Article and MOU, Article 1

Law firm: Article 1

What do employers need to do?

Employers should consider conducting training on relevant employment laws for human resource personnel, payroll staff, and other leadership-level employees. As always, employers should review all policies and practices to ensure full compliance with the law.

This communication is intended solely for the purpose of conveying information. The present post might incorporate hyperlinks directing readers to websites managed by third-party entities. The inclusion of any links within this communication is meant to serve as points of reference and could encompass opinion articles from various law firms, articles from HR associations, official websites, news releases, and documents of government agencies, and other relevant third-party sources. Vensure has no authority over these external websites and bears no responsibility for their content. Furthermore, Vensure does not endorse the materials present on these websites. The contents of this communication should not be interpreted as legal advice or as a legal standpoint concerning specific facts or scenarios. Nor should it be deemed an exhaustive compilation of facts potentially pertinent to federal, state, or local laws. It is strongly advised that employers solicit legal guidance from an employment attorney when undertaking actions in response to any legal updates provided. This is due to the possibility of future alterations occurring in federal, state, and local laws, regulations, as well as the directives and guidelines issued by governing agencies. These changes may transpire at any given time, potentially rendering certain portions of the content within this update void or inaccurate.