The Magic Language:
The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council (FAR Council) was charged with drafting contractual language to require compliance with the guidance from the SAFER Task Force (Guidance)...more
On Friday, September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force) issued its COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (Guidance) as directed by President Biden in an...more
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Biden announced his new COVID-19 plan entitled “Path out of the Pandemic” (Plan). While this Plan includes several provisions, this e-alert highlights a few of those of most interest...more
Yesterday the CDC issued new guidance recommending Americans to “wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.” The site includes a link so individuals can search their particular...more
It was about this time last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court extended Title VII protections to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status. Now the federal agency tasked with...more
Today the EEOC updated its FAQ at Section K regarding vaccination requirements in the workplace. It also issued guidance for employees and job applicants entitled “Federal Laws Protect You Against Employment Discrimination...more
5/28/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In follow up to our last post regarding CDC’s mask guidance, note that today OSHA updated its website to state the following...more
Unless you have been in a cave, you are aware that on May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that individuals who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 no longer need to wear a face...more
Yesterday, March 31, 2021, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin ended the state-wide mask mandate after finding Executive Order (EO) #105 to be unlawful, ending it immediately. Governor Tony Evers issued EO #105 shortly after the...more
Marathon County -
Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced on March 25, 2021 that a community-based vaccination clinic will open in Marathon County on April 6, 2021. The clinic...more
Just when we thought the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was about to disappear into HR history, we have another extension (to the tax credits for voluntarily providing qualifying leave)! Here is what you need to...more
On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the Wisconsin State Assembly (“Assembly”) voted on a resolution to repeal the mask mandate. This vote came a week after the Wisconsin State Senate (“Senate”) voted on the same resolution to...more
Today the CDC issued its “COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Toolkit for Essential Workers: Getting Started”, which includes posters, FAQs, and templates to use when communicating with your workforce about the vaccine...more
Happy New Year! As we move into 2021, we know that many of you are considering whether to require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccination. The current COVID-19 vaccines have received Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”)...more
On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which President Trump is expected to sign. The Act does not extend the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA mandated...more
Today the EEOC updated its guidance surrounding COVID-19 and vaccinations in the publication titled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.” In its most recent update, the...more
Last night, after his primetime address, Governor Evers issued Executive Order #94 which advises residents to stay home, take precautions if they have to leave their home, and encourages businesses to take additional steps to...more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) have updated the definition of “close contact” for quarantine purposes. Previous guidance provided that close contact...more
Today Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services issued Emergency Order No. 3 limiting public gatherings. As written, the Order is effective until November 6. The order limits “public gatherings” to no more than 25% of the...more
Employers need to keep abreast of the ever-changing agency rules regarding whether a worker is an “independent contractor” or an “employee.” You might ask, “why does this matter to the government?” The answer is easy: many...more
9/30/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour
Late last week, the Department of Labor issued a revised rule to address a New York federal judge’s order from this past August that struck down several provisions of the FFCRA....more
9/16/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Rules ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted an update to “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” on September 8, 2020. The update modified the Q&As to...more
Today the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published responses to three new frequently asked questions for regarding qualifying for paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in...more
By now, many of you have heard that last week a federal judge expanded several provisions of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). We have been postponing our alert on this hoping the Department of Labor would...more
Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response bill (2019 Wisconsin Act 185) was enacted by the Wisconsin legislature in mid-April. It included provisions to charge unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency to the...more