Although the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009, many state and local jurisdictions have set their own minimum rates higher than the federal level. When state and local rates are higher than the federal minimum wage, employers must pay employees at the higher rate.

A few of the states anticipating a minimum wage increase include Alaska, California, Florida, New York and New Jersey. Please check your local Department of Labor website to learn more about local increases to the minimum wage in your state.

In late November, the Overtime Rule was suspended from taking effect by a Texas Federal Judge. The revised regulations altered the minimum salary threshold used in determining "White Collar Exemptions" under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and called for updates every three years.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a statement on December 1st indicating that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a notice to appeal the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Click here to read the full statement.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued its updated enforcement guidance on national origin discrimination to replace its 2002 compliance manual section on the subject.

The guidance discusses Title VII's prohibition of national origin discrimination as applied to various employment situations and highlights promising practices for employers to prevent discrimination. The enforcement guidance also addresses developments in the courts post 2002, and topics such as harassment, job segregation, human trafficking and inter-sectional discrimination. According to Jenny R. Yang, EEOC Chair, "The examples and promising practices included in the guidance will promote compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and help employers and employees better understand their legal rights and responsibilities."

Accompanying the agency's guidance, are two short user-friendly resource documents: a question-and-answer publication and a small business fact sheet that highlights the major points in the guidance in plain language.

Over the course of the year, the EEOC has continued its mission to advance opportunity and ensure freedom from discrimination in the American workplace. Highlights for the year include.

Case Resolution: The agency resolved 97,443 charges in 2016, which is 6.5 percent more than the charges received during the year, thereby reducing the workload of pending charges. This included 273 resolutions of systemic investigations.

Settlements: The EEOC secured $482 million for discrimination victims, including $347.9 for victims of employment discrimination.

Resources: The agency launched the online Small Business Center providing access to information regarding employer responsibilities and other resources.

For more information on the EEOC's year in review, visit the EEOC Fiscal Year 2016 Highlights page.

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