With no clear guidance and different factors being given different weight by different courts, employers have struggled for years with whether workers can be properly classified as independent contractors, rather than employees, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Now, the Department of Labor has issued a new rule making clear what factors should be applied and how they should … Continue Reading
Category Archives: Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention
Subscribe to Employment Counseling & Workplace Claims Prevention RSS FeedPreparing for 2021: What New York Employers Can Expect in the New Year
2021 is here, and with the new year comes changes for New York employers seeking to ensure full compliance with newly effective laws, or changes to the law, throughout the State. Employers are well-advised to review the changes for the new year, summarized below.… Continue Reading
Five New States Approve Marijuana Use, Leaving Employers Dazed and Confused
Voters around the country recently approved a number of ballot initiatives legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational and/or medical purposes, further complicating the patchwork of existing marijuana laws found throughout the country. The confusion is compounded by the fact that marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby making it illegal (at … Continue Reading
What California Employers Need to Know About The Emergency Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Regulations
Nearly all California employers must take steps now to comply with the requirements imposed by the new slate of emergency regulations intended to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in California workplaces. These regulations, adopted by CAL/OSHA on November 30, 2020 are immediately effective. Here is what employers need to know now to protect their businesses and their employees.… Continue Reading
Just in Time for the Holidays, the EEOC Proposes Guidance on Religious Bias
It seems that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is getting into the holiday spirit and addressing religious bias for the first time in twelve years. Last week, the EEOC proposed updated religious discrimination guidance for public comment. This guidance (clocking in at well over 100 pages) is in line with the agency’s goal to revamp its stance on religious … Continue Reading
California Voters OK Independent Contractor Status for App Service Drivers
On November 3, 2020, nearly 60% of California voters approved a ballot measure to create a carve-out from the state’s expansive independent contractor law, AB 5, for drivers on technology platforms such as Lyft, Uber, Doordash, and Postmates. Proposition 22 essentially creates a new category of workers by allowing transportation technology companies to continue to treat drivers on their platforms … Continue Reading
New Obligations for Colorado Employers
Two new statutes affecting all employers operating in Colorado, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) and paid sick leave through Colorado’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, will add to the compliance burden of all employers operating in Colorado effective January 1, 2021.
The impact of each new law on employers is discussed below.… Continue Reading
Back to Pro-Labor: What Employers Can Expect From a Biden Presidency: Part II, Labor Relations Edition
While the final results are not yet certified, it appears that we have a new president. Employers across the country, both union and non-union, are wondering what they can expect from a Joe Biden presidency when it comes to organized labor. The Biden campaign was not shy about its strong support for labor unions, and many of Biden’s campaign promises … Continue Reading
Screening for COVID-19? Update Your Protocol!
Employers screening for COVID-19 should consider updating their screening and other protocols following new guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and a new study on how long the coronavirus can live on surfaces.
The new definition greatly expands persons who will be considered close contacts, and is just the latest change prompted by what scientists have … Continue Reading
New York State Releases Guidance on the State’s New Sick Leave Law
New York employers waiting for clarification on the newly effective New York State Sick Leave Law (“Sick Leave Law”) need wait no longer: on October 20, 2020, the state issued initial guidance – titled the New York State Paid Sick Leave FAQ (the “Guidance”) – interpreting the law.
The Sick Leave Law applies to all private sector workers in the … Continue Reading
Can Employers Require that Employees Get the Flu Shot?
Flu season is upon us. Can employers require a flu shot? More importantly, should they?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasizes that getting a flu vaccine this year is “more important than ever during 2020-2021 to protect yourself and the people around you from flu, and to help reduce the strain on healthcare systems responding to the … Continue Reading
COVID-19 Related Litigation Surges: What Employers Can Do To Minimize Exposure
The much-anticipated surge of COVID-19 pandemic-related litigation has begun. As the pandemic continues to lay siege to the United States economy, claimants’ lawyers and government agencies have begun setting their sights on employers.… Continue Reading
Use of Form I-765 Approval Notices for I-9 Verification Due to COVID-19
Employers who accept certain Form I-765 Approval Notices specifically approved during the pandemic for I-9 documentation purposes must reverify the employees presenting such documents no later than December 1, 2020. Delays in production of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced some foreign national workers to experience a lapse in employment authorization or to postpone employment … Continue Reading
Traps for the Unwary: Responding When An Employee Quits
You may have been there: a valuable employee angered by some new development, announces “I quit!” and storms out, then shows up for work the next day as though nothing happened. Or a rapidly failing underperformer submits a written resignation, but it’s not effective until 60 days later. What’s an employer to do? Can/should an employer march them out the … Continue Reading
Background Checks and the Fair Credit Reporting Act: Keep It Simple!
Employers who conduct background checks, beware! It might be time to revisit your standard documents and screening processes to ensure they comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The number of lawsuits brought under the FCRA has more than doubled since 2009. FRCA litigation was the highest on record at the close of 2019, and continues to rise. Many … Continue Reading
Department of Labor Addresses Court Ruling By Issuing New FFCRA Leave Regulations
In response to a New York federal court striking certain aspects of the Department of Labor’s regulations interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), last week the DOL issued a revised Temporary Rule (the “Revised Rule”), in some ways resisting and in others yielding to the court’s ruling. In particular, the Revised Rule maintains the DOL’s prior positions … Continue Reading
Employees Are Responsible for Logging Remote Work Hours
Employers have struggled with identifying remote working hours for non-exempt employees juggling telework, child care and/or virtual learning during the pandemic. Employees will now bear the burden of properly recording those hours, under new enforcement guidance issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in late August.… Continue Reading
Labor Day – More than just Barbecues and Parades
As summer winds downs, employers and employees alike look forward to a leisurely three-day weekend typically spent with family and friends, enjoying the remaining days of summer warmth, perhaps readying kids to go back to school or college. Except this Labor Day will likely be anything but typical. With crowded activities such as parades and fireworks displays canceled due to … Continue Reading
Screening Employees for Symptoms: Perils and Pointers
Screening employees for symptoms of COVID-19 is critical to limiting both the spread of the virus and a company’s exposure to claims that it did not do enough to protect its employees. But screening itself can create other liabilities, so you will want to be sure your process follows recommended federal, state and local regulations and guidance. Both the U.S. … Continue Reading
Longer Than Expected Layoffs May Trigger Notice Requirements
Back in the spring, when COVID-19 first forced the shutdown of many businesses, did your company temporarily furlough or lay off workers? If so, pay attention to that calendar, as six months may be rapidly approaching. As we noted in our prior blog, certain layoffs and reductions in hours that last longer than six months trigger federal notice requirements … Continue Reading
Common Sense Finally Prevails: Employers No Longer have to Tolerate Abusive and Offensive Conduct in the Workplace
Your employee has just cursed at you, calling you every racist and/or sexist name in the book. Naturally, that employee must go! Just as you are ready to sign off on the termination, a thought occurs to you: “Uh-oh. He was standing on a picket line when he called me those names. Am I still allowed to discipline him, or … Continue Reading
Employers: Duty to Provide Safe Workplace Extends Beyond Four Walls
Consider this in the era of COVID-19: how does an employer comply with its duty to provide employees a safe workplace when the workplace is not one controlled by the employer?… Continue Reading
The NLRB’s Division of Advice Has Spoken on COVID-19 in the Workplace, Providing Flexibility to Employers During the Pandemic
As employers continue to navigate these chaotic times, on July 15, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), through its Division of Advice (Advice), issued its first guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the workplace. In the form of five letters from Advice relating to the pandemic, the previously silent NLRB brought some beneficial clarity to employers who have no doubt … Continue Reading
Time to Update (or Implement!) Your COVID-19 Safety Plan
Do you have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place? If not, you had best get started.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have recommended having such a plan since the beginning of the pandemic, and have recently updated their guidance to spell out exactly what such plans should address. In some … Continue Reading
