Today marks the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that first began on March 13, 2020. The end of the public health emergency has a wide range of implications for employer sponsored benefit plans. This alert...more
As 2021 comes to a close, we are taking a look back at some of the major developments in New York City and New York state employment law this past year, and a look ahead as to what’s to come in the New Year. We start our...more
After being put on hold by court orders, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) mandating vaccination or weekly testing of employees of businesses with 100 or more...more
On December 6, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all private employers in New York City, which goes into effect on December 27, 2021. Yesterday, the City issued additional guidance related...more
In a press release issued earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that effective Monday, December 13, 2021, all indoor businesses and venues in New York State must implement either a mask or vaccine mandate applicable...more
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) issued an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring all large employers to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all employees...more
OSHA Adopts CDC Vaccine Guidance. On May 17, 2021, the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) updated its online COVID-19 portal to announce that OSHA is revising its employer materials to reflect...more
On March 26, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published Announcement 2021-7, which notifies taxpayers that certain amounts paid for personal protective equipment (such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes)...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, once again gives covered employers the right to voluntarily decide to continue to provide qualified leave under the Emergency Paid...more
New law provides up to four hours of paid leave for vaccination: On March 12, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation entitling New York employees to up to four hours of paid leave to receive COVID-19...more
On January 20, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor issued new guidance on the State’s COVID-19 leave law, which requires that employers provide up to fourteen days of job-protected leave to eligible employees who are...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued revised regulations regarding the availability of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). These...more
The IRS recently issued IRS Notice 2020-50 (“Notice 2020-50”) which provides guidance for retirement plan sponsors and administrators, as well as to individuals, relating to the application of coronavirus-related...more
COVID-19 has made traditional notarization, where the notary is in the same physical location as the signatory, a potentially hazardous and often undesirable requirement. Many states have reacted to this by permitting remote...more
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 which allow employers to provide various new types of relief to employees participating in Section 125 cafeteria plans (including flexible...more
On April 29, 2020, the Employee Benefit Security Administration (“EBSA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 (“Notice 2020-01”), in response to the COVID-19 outbreak which was declared a...more
On April 28, 2020, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of the Treasury (the “Agencies”) signed a joint notification of relief, which was...more
On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new guidance clarifying that employers may conduct mandatory testing of employees for COVID-19 before they enter the workplace so long as the...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing widespread shutdown of workplaces around the country continues (and for New Yorkers is expected to continue through at least May 15), government agencies have been busy issuing guidance...more
Over the past few weeks, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has provided relief to taxpayers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, by extending the deadline for payment and filing of individual income tax returns from April...more
Effective January 1, 2021, the majority of workers in New York will receive paid sick leave. On April 2, 2020, as part of New York’s budget approval process, the New York legislature and Governor Cuomo enacted a permanent...more
As employees begin requesting leave under the recently-passed New York legislation providing COVID-19-related sick leave (the “New York Act”) and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”), employers should...more
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act” or the “Act”), a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief and stimulus package that offers extraordinary financial...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), known as the CARES Act, was enacted today. This legislation contains several important provisions for employers and plan administrators regarding their...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748), known as the CARES Act, became law on March 27, 2020. This summary is the second part of our discussion of certain of the provisions of the CARES Act that can...more