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
Employers should be aware of recent changes in state workers’ compensation laws which expand protections for “front-line” workers in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ...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
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will begin issuing industry-specific guidance to protect American workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance to date has been in the form of “tips” rather than...more
On April 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided clarity on the scope of the $600 per week supplemental benefit available under the CARES Act, stating that even individuals entitled to partial unemployment...more
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
The U.S. is one of the easiest jurisdictions in the world in which to do business. Regulatory barriers are generally low, establishing a branch or business entity is quick and easy, labor and employment laws are much more...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act. This week, the EEOC twice updated its...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
The Coronavirus which causes the disease COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) presents a plethora of challenging labor and employment issues for employers in the United States. ...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
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
Pay equity continues to be a complex and evolving issue for employers. Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently ended its Component 2 pay data collection, employers still face substantial...more
2/24/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Data Collection ,
Deregulation ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Salaried Employees ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) is noteworthy for its novel “facility specific rapid response labor mechanism” (the Rapid Response Mechanism or Mechanism). The Mechanism permits the United States or...more
2/11/2020
/ Canada ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Rights ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Mexico ,
NLRB ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
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
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
On September 20, 2019 the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) proposed a rule which, if approved, would exclude graduate and undergraduate student workers, who perform services in connection with their studies,...more
9/30/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Colleges ,
Comment Period ,
Graduate Students ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Student Employees ,
Students ,
Teaching Assistants ,
Unions ,
Universities
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule that, effective January 1, 2020, will increase the salary threshold, by approximately 50%, that so-called “white collar” employees must be paid...more
9/27/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Beginning on July 1, 2019, Virginia employers must, for the first time, disclose certain employment records of current and former employees upon request. See Va. Code § 8.01-413.1. This blog post answers some essential...more
On June 14, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the argument that a university should be entitled to special academic deference in employment discrimination claims concerning...more
7/10/2019
/ Agency Deference ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Rights Act ,
Tenure ,
Title VII ,
Universities
As we previously reported in April of this year, a federal judge set September 30, 2019 as the deadline for covered employers (i.e., having at least 100 employees) to submit pay data in Component 2 of their EEO-1 reports. ...more
7/9/2019
/ Covered Employer ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Payroll Records ,
Portal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour