On December 6, 2022, Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced that the state will launch a voluntary paid family and medical leave program that will provide workers in the state with such leave insurance by 2025. With the move,...more
On December 9, 2022, a federal judge in Montana permanently blocked enforcement in healthcare settings of a first-in-the-nation law that had prohibited discrimination in employment and the provision of services based on...more
12/20/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Preemption ,
Vaccinations
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) recently published a new workplace poster, notifications, and new rate sheets for all employers in the state for 2023 regarding the Paid Family and Medical Leave...more
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza cases are surging across the United States while COVID-19 continues to spread. Faced with hospital beds filling up and experts warning that this could be one of the most severe...more
Millions of workers across the United States will be headed to the polls on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, for the midterm elections. With control of Congress up for grabs for the final two years of President Joe Biden’s...more
Variations in paid sick leave requirements can cause major compliance issues for employers, particularly as the requirements can vary not only state-to-state but from locality to locality within a state. In fact, respondents...more
Beginning on July 1, 2022, New Mexico’s Healthy Workplaces Act (HWA) requires private employers with even one employee working in New Mexico to provide paid sick leave (PSL) to eligible employees. The New Mexico Department of...more
On October 13, 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson allowed a new law addressing mandated COVID-19 vaccines for employees to go into effect without his signature. Senate Bill 739’s primary sponsor, Senator Kim Hammer, made...more
10/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Hutchinson ,
New Legislation ,
Opt-Outs ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Twenty-two of 27 Republican-led states have announced that they will end enhanced federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits early. Of those, four (Arizona, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma) will offer additional monetary...more
Since the beginning of May 2021, multiple states have announced their intent to opt out of enhanced federal unemployment benefits. To cease participation in enhanced federal unemployment benefit programs, a state must provide...more
On April 28, 2021, President Joe Biden unveiled a proposal to permanently expand unemployment benefits in his most recent economic package, the American Families Plan. The proposed expansion of unemployment benefits is in...more
Upon taking office, President Joe Biden, through an executive order, instructed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to review prior guidance on the availability of an individual to receive unemployment benefits if the...more
3/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Workplace Safety
In his first days in office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a flurry of executive orders. Notably, President Biden instructed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue new instructions to state unemployment agencies...more
On August 8, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum that addresses the need for additional assistance for workers who have lost wages due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The memorandum on wage...more
How can employers assist working parents during the fall school year? This is one of the top questions on the minds of management and employees as the fall school year begins....more
In March 2020, everyone thought we just need to occupy our children at home for a few weeks, maybe through spring break, and we would be fine. Then it was “just make it to summer.” Now summer is winding down and many kids are...more
Idaho is offering cash bonuses to employees who return to work as the state lifts COVID-19–related restrictions and businesses reopen. In an effort to incentivize employees who are now earning more money due to the additional...more
Businesses across the country are finally beginning to reopen and individuals are returning to work. As part of the reopening process, companies are implementing new safety protocols. Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans...more
On June 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor reported initial unemployment claims continue to show a decreasing trend. For the week ending May 30, 2020, 1,877,000 initial claims were filed, a decrease of 249,000 from the...more
This is the second in a series of articles written from my perspective as a labor and employment lawyer and mother addressing issues raised by the pandemic on multiple levels. My hope is that this series will provide...more
South Carolina has slowly begun to reopen over the last few weeks. While every state and many individual jurisdictions have different reopening criteria, in South Carolina, close contact businesses are now open....more
Over the years, Congress has put forth various legislative proposals regarding data privacy. None of the past legislation received the support necessary to enable passage of a comprehensive national data privacy law....more
On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its latest guidance to state unemployment agencies regarding the application of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) to impacted individuals in Unemployment...more
On April 7, 2020, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued Executive Order 2020-22. This order allows employers to provide furloughed employees with additional monetary assistance in the form of COVID-19 Support Payments...more
Unemployment benefits for impacted workers have now been addressed in both the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (phase 2) and the pending Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (phase 3), which has...more