Belgium’s social inspection services on a mission to check observance with working from home rules

Coronavirus themed Belgium Flag

In a previous blog we noted that as of November 2020, Belgium would again be in semi-lockdown and that one of the measures re-imposed was the obligation to work from home, unless this is realistically impossible. Employees whose work requires them to go the office need a confirmatory certificate from their employer attesting to this need. An employer allowing an employee to attend the workplace without that certificate commits an offence.

Despite these measures, the Corona numbers did not go down significantly in November and December. A quick look at the busy roads in the mornings suggested that continued attendance at the workplace was to blame for a good part of the spreading. It was clear from the density of the rush-hour traffic that employers and employees were just not obeying the “work from home” rules nearly as strictly as they had during the first lockdown. A closer monitoring by the state’s workplace inspection services was therefore announced in December 2020.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that the Government means business in this respect: during the month of January, at least 500 inspectors attached to the Ministry of Employment will be checking for observance of the rules: is the employee’s presence in the office strictly required; if not, why is he/she there anyway; and if so, does he/she have the necessary certificate? The inspectors have the right to visit unannounced, demand access to premises, search attendance records and talk to employees present.

President Trump Extends his Visa “Pause” Through March 2021 (US)

By Samuel Mudrick and Gregory A. Wald on January 4, 2021 Posted in Business Immigration, News

Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052 have been extended through March 31, 2021. The two proclamations, which suspend U.S. entry and visa issuance for many immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants outside the U.S., were set to end after December 31, 2020. Possible extensions were the subject of internal deliberations at the White House leading up to the New Year, with immigration restrictionists finally winning out over pro-business advocates who sought to let them expire. Continue Reading

Happy New Year

By Squire Patton Boggs on December 31, 2020 Posted in General

As 2020 comes to an end, the team at the Employment Law Worldview blog would like to take a moment to wish our clients, contacts, friends all the best in 2021!

2020’s parting gift to UK employers – you really shouldn’t have

By David Whincup on December 23, 2020 Posted in Compensation, Discrimination, Employment Tribunal, New Cases, Whistleblowing

It is easy to dismiss some EAT decisions as a storm in a teacup, legally-speaking, all very traumatic for those bobbing about in them, but of little significance to the wider world of employment law or practice.

Steer – v – Stormsure Limited earlier this month is not one of those decisions. It has the potential to alter very significantly both the law relating to remedies for discrimination and in particular, the practical balance of power in the conduct of discrimination litigation. It is not law yet but there seems every chance of its becoming so within the next 18 months. All employers should keep their eyes open for this one.

Stimulus Bill Extends Tax Credits for Paid Coronavirus Leave, But Not FFCRA Paid Leave Framework Itself (US)

By Laura Lawless on December 22, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Employment Law, Employment Policies, FFCRA, Health & Safety, Health & Welfare, Leave, Legislation, News, Paid Sick Leave, Regulation, Sick Leave, Tax

On Monday, December 21, Congress unveiled the nearly 5,600-page text of the latest COVID-19 relief package. If signed into law by the President, the omnibus spending and stimulus relief package will provide direct cash payments to many adults in the U.S., extend unemployment benefits, reopen the Paycheck Protection Program, and provide wide-ranging rental and educational assistance to those impacted by the pandemic.

Buried among the lengthy bill is language related to the paid sick and family leave program introduced as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA, which went into effect April 1, 2020, provides up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave, and up to 12 weeks of partially paid emergency family leave, to employees of certain employers who are unable to work due to COVID-19-related reasons. The FFCRA imposed a first-ever temporary paid federal leave requirement, but offset the burden on private employers by providing a dollar-for-dollar offset from payroll taxes for paid leave wages paid to employees taking FFCRA leave. Continue Reading

State Law Round-Up: Year End Edition – PART TWO (Illinois – Washington, D.C.) (US)

In Part One of our year-end State Law Roundup, we covered national minimum wage developments and developments in states at the beginning of the alphabet: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, and Hawaii. In Part Two below, we look at developments in the rest of the states (and localities), from Illinois to Washington D.C.

Illinois:

Illinois employers have until December 31 to provide the required annual anti-harassment training to their employees. Basic training materials are available on the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) website.
Employers’ first annual report to the Illinois Department of Human Rights regarding information about adverse judgments or administrative rulings relating to sexual harassment claims (i.e., any final and non-appealable judgment that finds sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination, where the ruling is in the employee’s favor) was due on October 31, 2020. Beginning in 2021 and thereafter, the deadline for this report will be July 1 of each year. Additional information is available from the IDHR’s FAQ.
As we previously reported here, as of August 1, 2020, changes to the Illinois school conference and activity leave requirements went into effect. The amended law provides that leave can be used for school conferences, behavioral meetings or academic meetings, and prohibits employers from terminating an employee’s employment based solely on an absence for one of these reasons.
The Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance went into effect July 1, 2020 and affects employers who have at least 100 employees globally (250 employees and 30 locations for a restaurant) and are in the Building Services, Healthcare, Hotels, Manufacturing, Restaurants, Retail, and Warehouse Services industries. Covered employees are those who make less than $26/hour or $50,000/year. Covered employers are required to give covered employees advance notice of their work schedule (10 days beginning July 1, 2020 and 14 days as of July 1, 2022); the right to decline previously unscheduled hours; premium pay for certain shift changes; and the right to decline work hours that would occur within 10 hours after the end of their prior shift.

EEOC Publishes Guidance on Employer Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies (US)

By Daniel Pasternak on December 16, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, COVID-19, Disability, Disability Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Law, Employment Policies, Health & Safety, Legislation, News, Policies, Religion, Religious Discrimination

Last month we discussed whether employers will be able to require employees to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of returning to, or remaining in, the workplace. We noted at that time that the conditions for and lawfulness of mandatory vaccination policies was unclear, but that guidance was anticipated from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that would (hopefully) clarify this issue and provide a roadmap for employers and employees dealing with this novel workplace issue.

On December 16, 2020, the EEOC updated its ongoing COVID-19 guidance with questions-and-answers specifically addressing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy issues. The short version of this guidance is that employers can implement and enforce mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies for employees, with certain exceptions and caveats. Here are the key takeaways: Continue Reading

Unwinding termination agreements – looking behind the without prejudice curtain (UK)

By David Whincup on December 16, 2020 Posted in Redundancy, Settlement, Termination, TUPE

All the smart money is on 2021 to see an increased number of grievances and Employment Tribunal claims as the pandemic support regime winds down. Therefore this is probably a good moment to look at the practical lessons to be taken from Cole – v – Elders Voice in the Employment Appeal Tribunal last month in relation to the possible unwinding of the settlements of those claims which you might reach.

State Law Round-Up: Year End Edition – PART ONE (California – Hawaii) (US)

As we (thankfully) reach the end of 2020, we wanted to provide a year-end update on recent and upcoming state law developments. Despite the fact that state and local governments had their hands full with the COVID-19 pandemic (and passed many laws relating to that topic, which we will not cover here), they managed to crank out an impressive number of non-COVID-related employment laws.

As always, now is a good time for employers to take a deep breath, look around, assess their policies for compliance, and make any necessary updates to their handbooks, pay practices, and administration for the new year.

Given the large number of updates, we have organized by state, rather than by topic, but will note that mandatory paid leave laws and pregnancy/lactation accommodation laws were among the most popular types of laws passed this year. Heading into 2021, we anticipate more of the same, as well as continued expansion of equal pay laws, anti-harassment and discrimination laws, and continued increases to minimum wage requirements. Continue Reading

Planning Ahead for the End (For Now) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (US)

By Laura Lawless on December 14, 2020 Posted in Compensation, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Employment Law, Employment Policies, FFCRA, Health & Safety, Health & Welfare, Leave, Legislation, News, Paid Sick Leave, Policies, Regulation, Sick Leave, Time Off, Wage and Hour, Workplace Safety & Health

Throughout 2020, we have provided updates on the adoption of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), its implementing regulations, and its amended regulations. In these updates, we have noted that the FFCRA – which provides emergency paid sick leave and paid emergency family leave for certain COVID-19-related reasons to public sector employees and employees of private employers with fewer than 500 employees — would sunset on December 31, 2020 unless extended by Congress. With just over two weeks left in the calendar year and no legislative activity suggesting that Congress plans immediately to extend the FFCRA, employers are advised to consider the implications of the upcoming deadline and communicate with employees about their return-to-work obligations, if applicable.

Because FFCRA-covered leave expires with the natural expiration of the FFCRA, so too does the tax relief that is intended to offset employers’ burden in providing paid leave. Therefore, even if an employee is only a few weeks into an FFCRA-covered family leave to provide child care due to his or her child’s school or daycare closure, the employee’s paid leave entitlement terminates on December 31, 2020, regardless of whether the employee has exhausted his or her statutory allotment of leave. Continue Reading