New Florida legislation seeks to protect individuals from discrimination “based on health care choices” and bars COVID-19 mandates. The new law took effect on June 1, 2023.
The law’s restrictions on vaccine mandates and...more
6/15/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Florida ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Masks ,
New Legislation ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency will end on May 11, 2023, one week after the World Health Organization determined that COVID-19 is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern....more
One of the many difficult issues employers face under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is determining what information a disabled employee must provide to an employer to trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate a...more
12/15/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Leave ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Remote Working ,
Termination
As the final tally of ballots comes in for many electoral races across the country, the outcomes of the various state ballot measures that were also part of the Nov. 8 midterm elections could require changes to employers’...more
Across the country, voters will have the chance to weigh in on many statewide ballot measures that will set state minimum wages and other employment laws....more
The legal landscape around abortion rights has changed greatly following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022), which ended a nearly 50-year precedent...more
As many expected based on the draft opinion that was leaked months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court has held the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to obtain an abortion....more
In 2021, the workforce continued adapting to an evolving global pandemic, increasingly consequential social movements and a dramatic shift in employment policy ushered in by a change of leadership at the federal level.
...more
2/23/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Construction Workers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Workers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Pay Transparency ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Technology Sector ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (H.R. 5376) by a vote of 220–213. Supported by the Biden Administration and congressional Democrats, the controversial bill heads to the Senate for...more
11/30/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Child Care ,
Clean Energy ,
Employee Contributions ,
Energy Storage ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits
During a special session to consider what Governor Ron DeSantis called his “Keep Florida Free” agenda, the Florida Legislature passed several vaccine measures, some of which conflict with recently implemented federal rules,...more
11/19/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Governor DeSantis ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
State and Local Government ,
State Health Departments ,
Vaccinations
In a clear response to the recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued by the Biden Administration, Iowa, Tennessee, Utah, and Florida recently have joined the...more
The pandemic has created an inflection point unlike any we have experienced in our lifetime — one that will redefine the workplace. Our Spring 2021 remote and return-to-the-workplace survey shares insights from more than 400...more
6/2/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Traveling Employee ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
With COVID-19 vaccinations rolling out across the country, loosening restrictions on operations, increased demand, and other signs of recovery in the industry, hospitality employers are poised to expand their workforces. This...more
An employer’s past leniency in applying and enforcing its attendance policy did not contradict the employer’s later position that regular worksite attendance was required for employment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
3/11/2021
/ Attendance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Essential Functions ,
Essential Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Leniency Guidelines ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Time-Off Policies ,
Wage and Hour
Employers thought work from home would be a short term fix to a temporary challenge. As a new wave of COVID-19 cases continue to mount nationally and globally, it is time for employers to reconnect with remote employees,...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has promulgated temporary regulations to implement provisions of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) which were enacted as...more
An employee seeking the protection of FMLA leave must give adequate and timely notice of the need for leave. In situations where the leave is due to a qualifying reason for which the employer previously provided the employee...more
With the rise in lawsuits under Title III of the ADA regarding accessibility of websites, Courts have been framing how such claims fit into the law’s requirements for accessibility at places of public accommodation. The U.S....more
A recent Middle District of Florida decision granted the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s claims for relief under Title III of the ADA based on Plaintiff’s lack of standing to bring such claims. In Kennedy v. Cape...more
As employers struggle with managing how much, if any, leave is required as an accommodation under the ADA, we are beginning to get more direction from the Courts to guide those decisions. In Easter v. Arkansas Children’s...more
Employees who take leave to care for a family member often have the ability to continue working during their leave if the caretaking obligations do not consume all of their time. If the employee asks to work limited hours...more
Many employers have programs allowing employees to donate their own time off to another employee with serious medical or family issues. A dilemma often faced by employers with these policies is whether continued use of such...more
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) made a number of significant changes to the definition of “disability.” Much of the change had to do with making it easier for an individual to establish that he or she has a disability...more
While employers generally accept that they cannot apply a maximum leave period after which employees are automatically terminated, they continue to struggle with how much leave must be provided as a form of accommodation...more
On July 17, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that under the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination law an employer may be required to accommodate an employee who is a current user of medical marijuana regardless...more