Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) has issued its decision in OFCCP v. Florida Hospital of Orlando, ruling that Florida Hospital is not a federal subcontractor and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”). The OFCCP is a federal agency that enforces equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws. Entities subject to its jurisdiction have numerous affirmative action obligations. The ARB’s decision addresses whether the OFCCP can establish jurisdiction over hospitals and other health care entities based solely on their contracts to provide medical services for beneficiaries of TRICARE.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 further expands the recent amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides leave to qualified employees to care for family members with needs relating to military service.   However, for those employers who rely exclusively on the Department of Labor website for their required postings and certification forms, beware - portions of the Department of Labor’s website have not yet been updated to reflect these changes and reliance upon these outdated materials may cause an employer to inadvertently, yet unlawfully, deny an employee his or her rights under the FMLA.