From our colleagues at the FrESH Law Blog comes a post analyzing the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the United States in early 2020, OSHA has been issuing COVID-19 guidance to employers on appropriate ways to address … Continue Reading
Ordinances and Executive Orders require paid sick leave, provide additional protections for grocery, drug store, and food delivery employees, and mandatory face mask use Like many other US cities and counties, the City of Los Angeles – the second most populous city in the US and home to four million citizens – has taken decisive … Continue Reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on all aspects of life for all Americans and we are all still adjusting to this new “normal,” which is anything but normal. Federal administrative agencies and their employees of course have not been immune to the effects of the current crisis and they, like private sector … Continue Reading
Throughout this past week, we have provided a comprehensive analysis of the various provisions of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the first ever federal law requiring the payment of paid sick leave and paid family leave for various COVID-19-related reasons. These daily updates include consideration of employer and employee coverage; qualifying reasons … Continue Reading
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a number of publications offering guidance to the states for implementing certain federal unemployment insurance provisions contained in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs. As … Continue Reading
In light of the ongoing pandemic crisis, on April 6, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he is extending the “PAUSE” restrictions in New York State, which means that non-essential businesses will remain closed until at least April 29, 2020. Additionally, last week on April 3, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed the FY 2021 Executive Budget: … Continue Reading
Credit where credit is due: even though we still don’t have a new Belgian government, our interim government has been extremely efficient and pragmatic in introducing measures to combat the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.… Continue Reading
When all this is over and the UK looks back to see what we learnt from the Coronavirus crisis, maybe somewhere on the list will be a point on making law by Twitter. #askRishi on Friday evening was an extremely brave attempt on the Chancellor’s part to engage with the detailed issues arising from the … Continue Reading
Some questions answered, many still remain On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new regulations (29 CFR Part 826), attempting to clarify certain provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). As we previously reported, under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provision of the FFCRA, certain public employers and private … Continue Reading
Tax credits may be available to employers who are required to pay additional wages to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”). Specifically, tax credits may be available to employers who are required to pay employees under the Emergency Sick Pay Leave and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave portions of the … Continue Reading
Employers with fewer than 500 employees and those that are under the applicable Small Business Administration size standards have been eagerly awaiting more information on how to apply for and obtain loans under the “Paycheck Protection Program” (PPP) portion of the CARES Act, passed to address the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The … Continue Reading
Since the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) became law last week (amazing how long ago that feels, right?), the US Department of Labor (DOL) has been publishing and updating guidance concerning the public health emergency paid sick leave and emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave required under the law. (See our prior … Continue Reading
On March 25, we reported that the US Department of Labor (DOL) had begun to release informal guidance regarding its interpretation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which requires that certain employers, including, among others, private employers with fewer than 500 employees, provide paid sick and paid family leave in certain circumstances resulting … Continue Reading
Hot on the heels of my piece about the inevitable build-up of holiday entitlements thwarted by the Coronavirus comes the announcement by the Government that the Working Time Regulations are to be amended to allow the carry‑forward of up to four weeks holiday from 2020 to be taken over the following two years. The Working … Continue Reading
In a late night vote on March 25, 2020, the Senate unanimously passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (‘‘CARES Act’’). The CARES Act will, among other things, inject $2 trillion into the US economy if passed by the House of Representatives and signed by President Trump. This is widely anticipated to occur … Continue Reading
The US Department of Labor (DOL) released on March 25, 2020 the notice to employees required under Section 5103 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The Notice is available here. The DOL also published responses to frequently asked questions about the notice, including where the notice must be posted and how it must be … Continue Reading
Last week Congress passed and the President signed into law the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” which contains sweeping provisions requiring employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide emergency paid sick leave and emergency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to employees impacted by in specific, enumerated ways by the novel … Continue Reading
Some recent UK employment legislation has been harder to untangle than a sack of coat-hangers so we must hope that Rishi Sunak’s Job Retention Scheme announced on Friday is simpler than its own publicity suggests. “Furlough”, a US word not previous seen in English employment legislation and now probably the most-googled word in the UK, … Continue Reading
Germany supports employers by facilitating the payment of short-time work benefits (“KUG”). KUG is a service provided by the Federal Employment Agency to safeguard jobs and avoid redundancies when employees are temporarily unable to be employed. The previous regulations in this regard have been considerably improved. The new regulation is limited in time and is … Continue Reading
In light of COVID-19’s global economic impact, employers continue to face the harsh reality that significant and even perhaps permanent changes to their business, including their workforce, will be necessary. As employers consider their options, unfortunately, closings and mass layoffs are amongst them. In the US, employers must consider the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining … Continue Reading
At last count, ten counties in Northern California have issued Health Orders dictating the mandatory shut down of all but “Essential Businesses”. The Counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Marin, San Mateo, San Francisco, Sonoma, Monterey, and San Benito. These Orders are substantially similar and, as drafted, specify numerous exceptions to permit Essential … Continue Reading
On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the coronavirus. After rejecting two attempted amendments to the House bill, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” passed the Senate by a vote of 90-8. As we reported on March 17, the comprehensive emergency measure expands nutrition and food assistance, unemployment … Continue Reading
On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the US House of Representatives passed a version of HR 6201, referred to as the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act).” The comprehensive emergency measure expanded nutrition and food assistance, unemployment insurance benefits, and protections for workers exposed to risks by the pandemic. Most notably for employers, HR 6201 included … Continue Reading
In 2017, Arizona passed the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, which requires all Arizona employers to provide paid sick leave (PSL) to their employees, whether they work full-time or part-time or on a permanent, temporary, or occasional basis. (A number of other US states have passed paid sick leave laws.) Employers with fewer than … Continue Reading
