In 2021, trade secrets and non-competes continued to garner attention on the national stage. Non-competes were the focus of significant legislative activity at both the federal and local levels, while trade secrets lead to...more
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court reinstituted a stay blocking OSHA's COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS), which mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require their employees...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an Opinion lifting the stay of OSHA's emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement mandatory...more
12/21/2021
/ Appeals ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 12, the Fifth Circuit extended its stay on OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS), which mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require their employees to get...more
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) mandating that large employers require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Large employers should soon have specific guidance on complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccine and testing mandate. On September 9, President Biden announced that OSHA would issue an...more
As increasing scrutiny was cast at the state and federal level on noncompetition agreements and other restrictive covenants, companies were forced to assess their ability to safeguard trade secret information. Not to mention...more
3/8/2021
/ Anti-Raiding ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trade Secrets
On January 21, 2021, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order outlining its objectives with respect to worker health and safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Order reflects President Biden’s promises...more
2/22/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In light of the development of a COVID vaccine, employers across all industries are beginning to plan for their employees to return to the workplace.
In today’s episode, Partner Brian D. Schneider and Associate Alexandra M....more
This is our fifth and final Alert on Virginia’s groundbreaking emergency, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard.
In the first, we summarized the standard’s general employer mandates. In the second, we covered...more
This is our fourth Alert that addresses Virginia’s groundbreaking emergency, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard.
In the first, we summarized the standard’s general employer mandates. In the second, we covered...more
This is our third Alert that addresses Virginia’s groundbreaking emergency, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard.
The first summarized the standard’s mandates for all covered employers. The second addressed the...more
In our previous Alert, we summarized general employer mandates contained in Virginia’s groundbreaking emergency, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard.
Today, we focus on a mandate applicable to covered employers...more
Last week, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced the nation’s first statewide COVID-19 workplace safety standard.
Northam said, “Workers should not have to sacrifice their health and safety to earn a living, especially...more
On April 27, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 18-20 (the Guidance) to provide states with instructions on implementing the emergency unemployment relief provisions in...more
The workers’ compensation system was created to ensure that employees who suffer work-related accidents or illnesses are compensated while, at the same time, protecting employers from lawsuits by these employees. It was a...more
We previously reported on how the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and its state law equivalents would apply to layoffs, furloughs, and closings during the coronavirus pandemic.
The US...more
The CARES Act provides another resource for federal contractors seeking to retain personnel, but actually obtaining the money requires circumspection and strategy.
Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic...more
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued two memoranda detailing the agency’s plan for conducting enforcement actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 13, OSHA released an...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have published more information on refundable tax credits that reimburse small and mid-size employers, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, for the cost of...more
4/2/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wages
Yesterday, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an order aimed at significantly slowing the community transmission of COVID-19. The order, which went into effect immediately, bans all gatherings of more than 10...more
With COVID-19 diagnosed in 21 of Maryland’s 24 counties and the disease’s death toll increasing, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has issued another order designed to stem the virus’s spread. Effective at 5:00 on Monday evening,...more
The disruptions resulting from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic present difficult questions for many employers who must decide whether to close offices, furlough employees, or layoff all or part of their workforce....more
On March 18, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020. The statute, which the City Council passed unanimously, contains two major workforce protections applicable to...more
The package was sent to the President’s desk after undergoing technical changes to paid medical leave and public health emergency medical leave provisions that will limit costs for small businesses. Employers with 500...more
3/20/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FMAP ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
TRICARE