On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overturned both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and held the access to abortion is not a right protected by the...more
8/3/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade
The federal government became the most recent employer to adopt a “Ban the Box” policy when The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act became effective December 20, 2021. The law prohibits federal contractors and most federal...more
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court reinstated the nationwide injunction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). (Technically, the Court overturned the...more
1/19/2022
/ Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
What Happened? I Thought This Was Gone!
On Friday, December 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted the nationwide Stay that had been previously put in place by the United States Court of...more
12/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Masks ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its much-anticipated mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule (“the Rule”). The Rule requires employers with 100 or more employees to...more
11/23/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the President issued Executive Order 14042, which applies new rules – including vaccination mandates – to Federal contractors and subcontractors. EO 14042 does not include a weekly testing option and is...more
11/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The much-anticipated vaccine rule is here. On November 4, 2021, and in response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Commission, issued the Emergency...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) to implement COVID safety protocols for Federal service contractors and subcontractors. While the EO did not outline specific rules, it did direct a Federal...more
10/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employees ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Many areas of the country are experiencing resurgences of COVID-19, and it is foreseeable that second and perhaps third waves of the virus will hit pockets of the country throughout the remainder of 2020. As healthcare...more
Furloughs. Layoffs. Loss of work visas. The state of employment in the U.S. is in flux due to the coronavirus, and employers and employees are left to figure out how to best deal with the changing regulations in this...more
4/30/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
F-1 Visa ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Foreign Students ,
Foreign Workers ,
Furloughs ,
Layoffs ,
Relief Measures ,
Work Visas
The scenario happens all the time:
Your engineering department has identified a need for more personnel who will work with export-controlled information. Management has approved the hiring, and your Human Resources manager...more
4/9/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decision-Making Process ,
Discipline ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Promotions ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Personnel Records ,
Protected Class ,
Supervisors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Young Lawyers
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the largest economic stimulus package in American history into law. Although the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) made several amendments to the...more
On March 18, 2020, shortly after it was passed in the Senate by a vote of 90-8, President Trump signed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Act (the “Act”) into law.
There are two paid leave provisions of the Act that...more
It is recommended that employers lead with a common-sense approach to what is in the best interests of their employees and customers based on current CDC guidance, while complying with OSHA, the ADA, the FMLA, the FLSA,...more
3/21/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Quarantine ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Employees ,
Workplace Safety
On March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives voted 363-40 to pass H.R. 6201: Families First Coronavirus Response Act—a relief package that, among other things, contains several provisions affecting employers. The Senate...more
Following a June 19, 2018 vote by District of Columbia residents to pass Initiative 77, which would provide a single minimum wage for all employees including tipped workers, the D.C. Council has voted to overturn the...more
On June 19, 2018, District of Columbia residents voted to pass (by a 55.14% to 44.86% margin) Initiative 77, providing for a single minimum wage for all employees, including tipped workers.
The restaurant industry led the...more
In a welcome departure from its recent practice, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently issued its first new opinion letters in almost ten years. In addition to issuing three new opinion letters...more
4/26/2018
/ Commute Time ,
Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Opinion Letter ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Serious Health Conditions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Work Schedules
Washington D.C. may become the next local government to require that restaurants pay minimum wage to its servers, bartenders, and any other workers who currently earn a “tipped wage” – a lower base wage, plus tips. Presently,...more