On Saturday, September 26, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy on the bench occasioned by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
On September 22, 2020, the White House released a new executive order, On Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping. Among other things, the order instructs government contracting agencies to add provisions to government contracts...more
9/24/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
Introduction -
Prior Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) Labor Day Reports focused on key employment developments and trends to provide employers with insight on the state of work and what to expect in the coming year....more
9/8/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Creation ,
Labor Regulations ,
On-Demand Services ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance for employers with respect to the deferral of the employee portion of certain payroll taxes. This guidance stems from a presidential memorandum issued...more
AB 5, California’s sweeping and landmark independent contractor law, became effective on January 1, 2020. By January 6, bills were already being introduced to amend the law. At one time, more than 30 such bills were...more
On August 8, 2020, the president signed several executive memoranda and an order addressing the continued economic havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic, two of which are of direct interest to employers....more
8/11/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Moratorium ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Social Security ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Deferral ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment Benefits
On July 27, 2020, Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate unveiled its latest legislative response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. The bill represents...more
During a pandemic, protests, and a polarized election season, employers have walked an ever-increasingly fine line between protecting employee speech in the workplace and enforcing rules on workplace conduct....more
7/23/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Title VII ,
Unions
The federal government recently released its unified federal regulatory agenda–the document that outlines regulatory and deregulatory actions agencies expect to take in coming months....more
7/8/2020
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Previously, we discussed the increasing number of lawsuits filed against employers relating to COVID-19, and how these numbers are expected to swell. Perhaps recognizing the economic ruin that could befall employers facing...more
7/4/2020
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Good Faith ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Limited Liability Act ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Liability ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Vendors ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
As the United States continues to struggle with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, safety, and the economy, it is likely that many employers will have yet another issue to face as they attempt to...more
A new executive order directs federal agencies to focus their efforts on regulatory barriers to economic recovery. Specifically, the May 19, 2020 order directs agencies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic public health...more
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6800, the “Heath and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions” or “HEROES” Act....more
In addition to numerous provisions expanding paid leave and unemployment benefits, the newly introduced Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act would create a program enabling employers to...more
On May 12, 2020, the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled its opening bid in the next round of COVID-19 response legislation. ...more
5/14/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Trump Administration
The wave of COVID-19 litigation is not coming; it has arrived. Even before most states open back up for business, plaintiff’s lawyers are suing employers for a variety of alleged violations related to the virus, including...more
Ahead of a second round of lending, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that businesses applying for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) must consider other sources of liquidity before certifying...more
The Department of Labor has clarified that gig workers qualify as “unemployed” under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program when they lose a significant amount of business because of COVID-19. ...more
Senate lawmakers agreed on April 21, 2020, to inject cash into the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a mechanism for offering forgivable loans to small businesses. Lawmakers also agreed to allocate more money for disaster...more
Enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provides forgivable loans to businesses with 500 or fewer employees that have been adversely...more
The CARES Act included a variety of new provisions to help employers and workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those provisions were two aimed at student-loan repayment. ...more
On April 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance to employers in the package delivery industry intended to assist them in reducing the risk of their...more
On Saturday, April 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Unemployment Insurance Guidance Letter 15-20 (UIPL 15-20) to provide further guidance to the states on the temporary expanded unemployment insurance...more
On April 1, 2020, the day the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) took effect, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released temporary regulations interpreting this new law that requires private employers...more
On March 31, 2020, the IRS published new guidance clarifying how employers can claim tax credits for giving employees paid leave and maintaining their payrolls during the COVID-19 crisis. The agency explained that employers...more