Effective July 27, 2020, Virginia employers must comply with new COVID-19 workplace safety standards, known as the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The ETS applies to all employers subject to the jurisdiction of the...more
On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided two cases addressing employers’ religious freedoms in very different contexts: one concerning whether religious school teachers could challenge adverse employment...more
7/29/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
First Amendment ,
HRSA ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v Pennsylvania ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Schools ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Teachers ,
Trump v Pennsylvania ,
U.S. Treasury
After several weeks of discussion, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) on July 15, 2020 adopted the nation’s first workplace safety standards designed to establish requirements for employers to control,...more
The District of Columbia recently adopted a new version of emergency laws requiring employers to provide both paid and unpaid leave to eligible employees for certain COVID-19 related reasons....more
7/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Benefits will be available to employees under the District of Columbia’s paid family and medical leave program, known as D.C. Paid Family Leave (DCPFL), starting July 1, 2020. ...more
Virginia has substantially rewritten its employment laws to provide a number of new protections and rights to employees in the areas of employment discrimination, whistleblower protection, non-compete agreements, independent...more
6/12/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Human Rights ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Private Right of Action ,
Protected Class ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
CDC provides updated guidance and toolkit for employers preparing to re-open -
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to release workplace re-opening guidance, both generally and for employers...more
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published a new self-identification form federal contractors (including subcontractors) must provide to individuals to request information concerning their...more
Many U.S. employers are eager to reopen their worksites and to resume more normal in-person operations. But resumption of business while the country continues to face the risk of COVID-19 infections presents significant legal...more
The Mayor of the District of Columbia recently signed two emergency laws that expand obligations of employers to provide leave to employees for COVID-19 reasons...more
On April 8, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated interim guidance (Guidance) advising that asymptomatic critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue to work onsite...more
4/17/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Screening Procedures ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Decontamination ,
Workplace Safety
On April 1, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL” or the “Department”) issued regulations implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”). In addition, DOL continues to update its FFCRA Q&As...more
Following two rounds of guidance on the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”) last week, the Department of Labor (“DOL” or the “Department”) released additional guidance...more
As the April 1 effective date for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”) paid leave requirements rapidly nears, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) continues to update its compliance guidance for...more
3/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Posting Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On March 24, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a news release and three guidance documents on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”). ...more
3/26/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Posting Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the Act) into law on March 18, 2020, the same day that it passed the Senate. ...more
The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (the “Bill”), a broad response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 363-40 and is expected to pass in the Senate and be...more
3/16/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In January 2020, Judge John Tran of the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia held unenforceable non-competition and non-solicitation provisions in a government contractor’s consulting agreements entered into with...more
3/2/2020
/ Army ,
BPA ,
Civilian Agency Task Orders ,
Consultants ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Monopolization ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Physicians ,
Psychological Counseling ,
Public Policy ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
As sophisticated employers know, an employer must track and comply with developments not only in federal law, but also state and local law. This blog post details key changes in employment laws in the Commonwealth of Virginia...more
1/13/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Ban the Box ,
Contract Terms ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Records ,
Exemptions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Records ,
Request For Information ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
As sophisticated employers know, an employer must track and comply with developments not only in federal law, but also state and local law. This blog post details key changes in employment laws in the District of Columbia in...more
1/13/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Food Service Workers ,
Human Rights Act ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment
The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) recently released a Paid Family Leave Employee Notice (“PFL Notice”) that D.C. employers must provide to employees by February 1, 2020. ...more
As part of an ongoing project to update its guidance and technical assistance documents, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) last week issued a statement rescinding its 1997 Policy Statement on Mandatory...more
On December 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a new decision that strengthens employers’ right to restrict employees from using company email for non-work reasons. Caesars Entertainment, No....more
12/18/2019
/ Caesars ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Information Technology ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Protected Activity ,
Purple Communications
Employers with employees—and, in some cases, 1099-MISC contractors —in Massachusetts have obligations starting next week under Massachusetts’ new Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (“MPFML”), which will entitle most...more
On August 9, 2019, the D.C. Office of Employment Services (DOES) took another step toward full implementation of D.C.’s Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (UPLA) by issuing proposed benefits regulations. In a recent...more
8/27/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws