Employers wading through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act may be wondering how it impacts paid leave and payroll tax credits made available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), enacted back in March 2020. Here’s the scoop:… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Medical & Other Leaves
Subscribe to Medical & Other Leaves RSS FeedDo the Business Liability Shield Laws Give Employers Immunity From COVID-19 Lawsuits
Not really. Like the COVID-19 vaccines, these “business liability shields” may provide a layer of protection for some employers, but they in no way guarantee immunity from lawsuits. Since early last year, business leaders expressed concerns about continuing with operations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic—mainly because they feared exposing their businesses to lawsuits arising from the transmission of the virus. Indeed, … Continue Reading
Is There A New Requirement To Pay Employees on Military Leave?
A few recent cases may have savvy employers rethinking their military leave policies and choosing to pay employees on short-term military leave to the same extent they voluntarily pay employees benefits for other leaves of absence, such as jury duty, bereavement, and sick leave.… Continue Reading
Employers Should Confirm that 2020 FFCRA Wages Were Properly Reported
Employers were required to distribute and file Forms W-2 by February 1. To the extent they have not already done so, employers should confirm that any leave wages paid in 2020 pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) were properly reported on Forms W-2.
The Internal Revenue Service provided guidance concerning reporting of FFCRA leave wages in Notice … Continue Reading
UPDATE: Payroll Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the FFCRA Extended Through March 31, 2021
The pandemic relief package enacted by Congress in late December briefly extended the available payroll tax credits for leave provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) through March 31, 2021. The relief package did not extend the requirement to provide paid leave, so after December 31, 2020, employers are not mandated to provide paid sick or family leave … Continue Reading
Preparing 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
Claiming Payroll Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The paid leave requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will end on December 31, but employers should take steps now to claim the associated tax credits for any required leave they provided to their employees.… 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
Workplace Changes to Expect Under a Biden Administration: Part I
The networks have called the Presidential election for Joe Biden. Assuming those results are certified and President Trump’s legal challenges fail, what should employers expect under the new administration? In Part I of this two-part series, let’s explore what changes we might see in the workplace from the employment law perspective. In Part II, we will look at changes in … Continue Reading
California’s Sweeping Expansion of Employment Laws
California has enacted a host of new laws impacting family and medical leave, coronavirus reporting obligations, workers compensation, pay gap data, worker classifications, and more. Here are the highlights, including when employers must abide by the new laws.… 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
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
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
DOL Guidance on COVID-19 Leave Evolving
With employers and employees still working under the shadow of COVID-19, the Department of Labor (DOL) is keeping watch on new issues arising from the changing circumstances. But, while the DOL watches issues to provide guidance, a federal judge in New York is watching the DOL. This week, a New York judge vacated four portions of the DOL’s Family First … 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
State and Local Paid Family and Sick Leave Laws Continue to Sweep the Country
Even before COVID-19 hit the United States, state and local governments were busy passing paid family and/or sick leave laws. Unlike the federal, state, and local leave laws which were enacted in response to COVID-19, these laws do not expire and have a broader application. In 2019, paid family leave laws in Washington, D.C. and Washington state, and paid sick … Continue Reading
Summertime: Child Care and Child Labor News
Summer camp closures and extended school sessions present new challenges for both working parents and for companies employing teens. The Department of Labor has offered new guidance on both issues.… Continue Reading
Avoiding Potential Workplace Claims Arising from Reopening of Businesses
As employers contemplate or commence reopening, they should be cognizant of potential workplace claims which are likely to escalate in the COVID-19 era. Such claims can arise out of a wide range of situations, including: deciding which employees should be brought back to the worksite first, which should be allowed to continue to telework and where there isn’t sufficient work, … Continue Reading
DOL Issues Regulations on Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA Leave
Demonstrating that guidance on the newly mandated Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave is fluid, on April 6, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published new regulations as a “temporary rule” expanding on and tinkering with its prior guidance under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new rule became effective … Continue Reading
Relief for Employers in the CARES Act
The Federal Corona Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), approved Friday in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, provides businesses with a myriad of opportunities for relief, including expansion of unemployment benefits, advance refunding of tax credits for employers that provide expanded FMLA leave and emergency paid sick leave, small business loan programs, debt forgiveness, and more. Summaries of the … Continue Reading
Department of Labor Issues FFCRA Guidance, Poster
A flurry of publications from the United States Department of Labor (DOL) provide employers with additional details regarding the recently-passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Q&A guidance issued March 24 establishes an April 1, 2020 effective date and explains how to calculate the 500-employee threshold and hours used to determine employees’ leave entitlement. A March 24 Wage and Hour … Continue Reading
Paid Sick Time and FMLA Expansion Law Passes
Employers with fewer than 500 employees will be required to provide paid leave to certain employees impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and will receive a tax credit in return, under a new law approved by the Senate and signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020. These measures are set to take effect no later than April 2, 2020.
The … Continue Reading
New Sick Leave Entitlements for Quarantined NY Employees and More Coming
Immediate pay and job protection for New Yorkers quarantined as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) , as well as comprehensive paid sick leave that will impact all employers within six months, will be enacted imminently into law, Governor Cuomo of New York has announced.
Originally designed as one bill, New York lawmakers and the Governor reached agreement on the … Continue Reading
Paid Sick Leave and Other Relief Coming for Employees Affected by COVID-19
Employers with fewer than 500 employees will be required to provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave for certain employees impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and will receive a tax credit in return under an emergency bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this weekend. The Senate is expected to consider the bill this week and President … Continue Reading
