Tag archives: Employers

US: New HERO Act Imposes Significant Obligations on New York Employers

New York State employers should be aware of a recent law aimed at protecting workers from COVID-19 and other airborne infectious diseases, the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act), which imposes significant obligations on covered employers. Among other things, the HERO Act requires the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) to … Continue reading

US: DOL issues COBRA premium subsidy guidance and model notices

By Josh Owings (US) and Thomas Reddin (US) on May 12, 2021 Posted in North America, United States

The US Department of Labor recently published answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and model notices for the new COBRA premium subsidy made available to many employees and their dependents under the American Rescue Plan Act. As explained in an earlier post, the new law allows “assistance eligible individuals” (AEIs) – defined as COBRA qualified … Continue reading

DOL independent contractor rule withdrawn

By Rachel Kurth (US) on May 6, 2021 Posted in North America, United States

Trump-era independent contractor rule withdrawn Effective today, May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Trump-era independent contractor rule has been officially withdrawn. The Trump-era independent contractor rule, which never went into effect due to the change between presidential administrations, would have made it easier for companies to classify workers as independent contractors. Trump-era independent … Continue reading

US: Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines and employer health and safety obligations

By Kevin Mayer (US) on April 29, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

Federal OSHA has recently released guidance advising on employer health and safety obligations when employers require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. Specifically, OSHA addresses the potential (albeit rare to date) of an employee who incurs an adverse reaction to a mandated vaccination. In such a situation, the reaction will … Continue reading

US: Why a Mandatory Vaccination Policy May Not Restore Business as Usual for Companies

By Josh Henderson (US) on April 23, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

Throughout the United States, employers are weighing whether to have a mandatory vaccination policy for COVID-19. The objective is to bring employees back to work safely and the understandable desire to return to our pre-pandemic status quo. This post does not advocate in favor or against a mandatory vaccination policy—except to note there may be … Continue reading

US: New COBRA Premium Subsidy in Third COVID Relief Stimulus Act

By Thomas Reddin (US) and Josh Owings (US) on March 25, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The latest COVID-relief bill, the American Rescue Plan Act, will allow most current and former employees and their dependents to receive fully subsidized COBRA continuation coverage beginning April 1 and continuing through September 30, 2021—even if they never elected COBRA or dropped coverage. To learn more about what employers with group health plans subject to … Continue reading

US: California employers must take measures to curb workplace spread of coronavirus under emergency CAL/OSHA rules

By Josh Henderson (US) and Jackie Karama (US) on November 22, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has approved emergency, temporary COVID-19 regulations under California’s Occupational Safety & Health Act. California employers must now establish specific measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in nearly every workplace in California. The emergency regulations, which the Standards Board approved on Thursday night by a unanimous vote, … Continue reading

US: Amendments to New York City sick leave policies required as soon as possible

By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on October 8, 2020 Posted in North America, United States

New York City employers are required to amend their existing sick leave policies as soon as possible due to amendments to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (the “ESSTA”) that went into effect on September 30, 2020. These recent amendments attempt to align the ESSTA more closely with the recently-enacted New … Continue reading

US: Virginia becomes first state to adopt COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard

By Kevin Mayer (US) and Jackie Karama (US) on August 12, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

On July 27, 2020, the first state “Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS) for COVID-19 went into effect. The ETS requires employers in the state to develop and implement COVID-19 prevention and control measures in the workplace. The ETS is in effect for six months, although this period could be shortened if the Virginia State of Emergency … Continue reading

US: Coming soon – New York State employers should prepare for paid sick leave law to take effect in September

By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on July 22, 2020 Posted in North America, United States

As part of the most recent New York State budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a new mandatory paid sick leave program affecting all New York employers. Under the law, all New York employers will need to provide their employees with paid or unpaid sick leave (whether or not related to the COVID-19 pandemic) … Continue reading

US: Return to work considerations for New York employers during COVID-19 pandemic

By Nandini Rao (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on June 12, 2020 Posted in North America, United States

Businesses with operations in New York State and, particularly, in New York City, face unique obstacles with respect to reopening their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 380,000 confirmed cases across the state, and over 200,000 confirmed cases in New York City, most New York residents have been affected by the virus in some … Continue reading

US: California court addresses legality of unlimited or uncapped vacation policies

By Josh Henderson (US) and Phillip Di Tullio (US) on May 13, 2020 Posted in North America, United States

Recently, in McPherson v. EF Intercultural Foundation, Inc., the California Court of Appeals addressed the legality of unlimited or uncapped vacation policies under California law. Three exempt employees sued the company for payment of unused vacation time at termination, despite being subject to an unlimited paid time off policy, because they argued the policy was … Continue reading

US: Employer obligations for COVID-19 mandated remote work expenses (California and beyond)

By David Kessler (US), Josh Henderson (US) and Susana Medeiros (US) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, many employers are requiring their employees to work remotely (either voluntarily or because several states, including California and New York, have imposed social distancing restrictions). The new work-from-home reality has implications for employers with workers employed in California and other states, as described in COVID-19: Working from home and … Continue reading

UPDATE: September 30, 2019 deadline for employer pay data reporting to EEOC will cover both 2017 and 2018 pay data

By Mario Barrera (US), David Gallai (US), James Hughes and Rachel Kurth (US) on May 3, 2019 Posted in North America, United States

September 30th deadline to provide pay data to EEOC will cover both 2017 and 2018 pay data As we previously reported in our articles Employers with 100 or more employees must provide pay data to the EEOC by September 30, 2019 and New EEOC pay data deadline: September 30, 2019, following an April 25, 2019 … Continue reading

Employers with 100 or more employees must provide pay data to the EEOC by September 30, 2019

By Mario Barrera (US), David Gallai (US), James Hughes and Rachel Kurth (US) on April 29, 2019 Posted in North America, United States

September 30th deadline to provide pay data to EEOC Following an April 25, 2019 federal court ruling, employers with 100 or more employees should begin to prepare to report pay data to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by September 30, 2019. While there is a possibility that an appeals court could stay this … Continue reading

New York State and New York City employers face new compliance requirements

By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on February 6, 2019 Posted in North America, United States

Recently, New York State and New York City have continued the trend of enacting employee-friendly legislation and issuing broad enforcement guidance under their respective employment laws and regulations. New York State and New York City employers should be aware of the following recent developments from 2018 and early 2019, and should take action to review … Continue reading

New York City employers take note: New anti-sexual harassment laws enacted

By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on May 16, 2018 Posted in United States

On May 9, 2018, New York City enacted a number of laws addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. The laws are summarized below. New York City employers who do not yet have anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies in place should promptly begin the process for adopting them. New York City employers should also begin to make … Continue reading