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
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
Trump-era independent contractor rule withdrawn Effective today, May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Trump-era independent contractor rule has been officially withdrawn.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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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