Nota Bene Episode 82: How Congress is Meeting the Pandemic: Stimulus, Relief, and Recovery with Elizabeth Frazee and Jonathan Meyer
Employment Law Now IV-67- Today's U.S. DOL Phone Briefing re: Federal Coronavirus Initiatives
Over the closing months of 2023, New York lawmakers at both the state and local levels were busy passing new legislation impacting the workplace. As a result, New York employers should take some time to familiarize themselves...more
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul continues to sign legislation emanating from a busy legislative session, including legislation rendering contractual assignment-of-inventions provisions unenforceable, prohibiting...more
Those doing business in the Badger State should take note — in a recent case, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals determined that delivery drivers who were paid as independent contractors were improperly classified as such. ...more
With bank uncertainty making headlines, we answer employers’ most frequently asked questions about the consequences of payroll delays, strategies for mitigating risk and more. ...more
The federal government is substantially ramping up its enforcement of COVID-19-related fraud. In a press release issued yesterday, the United States Secret Service announced the naming of a “National Pandemic Fraud Recovery...more
Overview of ESD Audits - The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) audits records of employers located in Washington to confirm that wages and hours are accurately reported and to ensure compliance with the...more
Intensifying its crackdown on suspected fraud in pandemic relief programs, the U.S. Department of Justice has established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, sending a clear message that any individual or business that...more
Governor Reynolds announced effective June 12 the state of Iowa will stop participation in several federal pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs. Iowa will continue to pay regular unemployment, without the additional...more
Is That Infrastructure? Biden Plans To Retrofit Not Just Roads And Bridges. Astute readers of this newsletter have almost assuredly heard the phrase “that’s infrastructure” mentioned by Biden administration officials as they...more
On March 22, 2021, former two-term Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor in a 68-29 Senate vote. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) supported Walsh’s nomination as Secretary of Labor due in...more
Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) fraud has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in billions of dollars’ worth of fraudulent claims being filed across the United States. We have previously outlined steps that...more
Upon taking office, President Joe Biden, through an executive order, instructed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to review prior guidance on the availability of an individual to receive unemployment benefits if the...more
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program was a key component of last year’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and was subsequently extended through March 14 of this year. Under the program,...more
President Biden wants to “help ensure unemployed Americans no longer have to choose between paying the bills and keeping themselves and their families safe from COVID-19.” Specifically, he has instructed the U.S. Department...more
In week six, the Administration’s labor and employment activity includes a major roadblock to the $15 federal minimum wage increase, an extension of unemployment benefits by the DOL, and unexpected silence by the...more
On January 14, 2021, New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) Commissioner Roberta Reardon signed an Order that temporarily cancels unemployment insurance (“UI”) charges to employers for the duration of the COVID-19...more
On Jan. 14, 2021, New York State Department of Labor (DOL) Commissioner Roberta Reardon signed an Order to temporarily modify the unemployment benefit charging system and ease the burden for unemployment insurance charges...more
In his first days in office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a flurry of executive orders. Notably, President Biden instructed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue new instructions to state unemployment agencies...more
Who Needs to Know - All employers attempting to recall or hire employees currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits who may be eligible for extended benefits, and employers who may conduct future furloughs, layoffs,...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) into law, providing a long-awaited additional round of economic relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this new law,...more
In yet another decision concerning gig economy businesses, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department upheld a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board (the “Board”), which held that...more
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on September 22, 2020, proposed a regulation that would clarify how to determine whether a worker is an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”) or...more
“Skinny” Coronavirus Package Blocked. Congress returned to Washington, D.C., this week following an August recess, but didn’t do much to move the ball forward on pressing issues such as coronavirus relief, postal service aid,...more
With the broad expansion of unemployment benefits during the pandemic, and states racing to get them distributed, fraud was a concern from the outset. And, sure enough, states and federal entities are reporting significantly...more
The CARES Act’s federal unemployment insurance supplement has expired, and a new executive order from the President has taken its place – for now....more