On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued updated guidance (“Guidance”) for businesses and employers on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation in a post-vaccine workplace. This Guidance...more
6/17/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced the release of updated guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, providing welcome clarity around a number of vaccine-related issues for...more
It’s #WorkforceWednesday! This week, we discuss how employers are navigating COVID-19 vaccination policies and new worker organization and whistleblowing risks.
Legal Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination Policies (see...more
5/5/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
Recruiting qualified applicants and hiring top talent have always been time-consuming endeavors that come with constant worry about making a wrong hire. Added to this, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively put a halt to...more
On February 22, 2021, Governor Murphy signed three separate cannabis reform bills into law that formally legalize the use and possession of recreational marijuana in the Garden state: (1) the “New Jersey Cannabis Regularly,...more
You've likely seen the headlines. Online recruiting tools that unfairly screen out women and minorities. Facial recognition tools used in law enforcement that misidentify specific demographic groups. Algorithms that place...more
2/12/2021
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Biometric Information ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Chief Information Officers (CIO) ,
Clinical Trials ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FDA Approval ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Life Sciences ,
Popular ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Webinars
Last summer, we reported on Virginia’s adoption of an “Emergency Temporary Standard for Infection Disease Prevention: SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19” (the “Temporary Standard”), which made Virginia the first state to...more
The District of Columbia is bracing for a transition. But while employers across the country wait to see what changes the Biden Administration may bring, Washington, D.C. employers should prepare for a drastic and imminent...more
On October 1, 2020, numerous laws in Maryland providing expanded protections for both existing employees and job applicants addressing race and sex discrimination, pay equity, and wage transparency went into effect. As we...more
It's our first #WorkforceWednesday of 2021! The past year tested our resilience, and COVID-19 forced everyone to think creatively and adapt quickly. Nowhere was that seen more clearly than in the workplace.
Workplace Safety...more
1/6/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Closures ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Personal Information ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered across the United States, employers are considering whether to mandate and/or administer the COVID-19 vaccine to employees. On December 16, 2020, the U.S....more
It’s #WorkforceWednesday! This week, the next big challenge for employers—vaccine policy readiness. We also look at how the U.S. Supreme Court might rule on two employee benefits-related issues.
It’s Time to Ready Your...more
11/25/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As COVID-19 cases once again surge across the country, Washington, D.C. employers must remember to provide both paid and unpaid leave under the new District of Columbia Coronavirus Support Temporary Amendment Act of 2020...more
While the country remains focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. employers cannot ignore the ongoing opioid epidemic or how it may affect their workforces. On August 5, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more
8/11/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ,
New Guidance ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Substance Abuse
Virginia has become the first state in the nation to implement workplace safety and health standards for COVID-19. On July 15, 2020, the state Safety and Health Codes Board adopted § 16VAC25-220, an “Emergency Temporary...more
The time has come. As of July 1, 2020, almost a year after Washington, DC, started collecting an employer payroll tax to fund the city-run leave program, employees are now eligible to collect benefits....more
In a recent Bloomberg Law article, we reported on legislative developments regulating the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in employment law decisions. On May 11, 2020, one of the pieces of proposed legislation we...more
Virginia may be for lovers, but it no longer loves non-compete agreements. Starting on July 1, 2020, employers may not “enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce” a non-compete agreement with any “low-wage employee.” As...more
On June 9, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam announced that Northern Virginia and Richmond will join the rest of the state in entering Phase Two on June 12, 2020, taking the next step to reopening the region. Governor Northam’s...more
The employment law landscape in Virginia will undergo a seismic shift effective July 1, 2020. Since April 2020, Governor Ralph Northam has signed roughly two dozen bills into law that will significantly impact employers,...more
6/3/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Governor Northam ,
Human Rights ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Sexual Orientation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On May 27, 2020, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued Order 0202-067, which details the Phase One limited reopening of non-essential businesses in Washington, D.C., to begin on Friday, May 29, 2020. ...more
Failing a drug test may not kill the buzz for medical marijuana patients in the Empire State. In contrast to courts in California and other jurisdictions, a New York state court has held that medical marijuana users are...more
5/14/2020
/ Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
NYCHRL ,
Protected Class ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
Welcome to #WorkforceWednesday. Here’s the week’s top workforce management and employment law news:
The COVID-19 Labor Market Imbalance (video below)
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden imbalance in the labor market....more
4/22/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Layoffs ,
OSHA ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Shared Work Program ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Workplace Safety
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 is now a pandemic. The effects continue to be felt in the United States, which now has well over 1,000 confirmed novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)...more
3/16/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Supplies ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Strategic Planning ,
Threat Management ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Safety
First of Many Anticipated Employment Changes in Virginia, Including Expanded Coverage and Remedies for the Virginia Human Right Act and Minimum Wage Increases....more
3/11/2020
/ Dress Codes ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gig Economy ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour