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The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has withdrawn an emergency rule it passed just weeks ago that would have made it easier for essential workers to claim they became sick with COVID-19 while on the job.

The withdrawal comes in the face of a Sangamon County Circuit Court decision granting an emergency request by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association to block the new rule. The court found that in passing the emergency rule, which created a rebuttable presumption that essential workers who become sick with COVID-19 contracted it in the course of their employment, the Commission exceeded its rulemaking authority under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the Illinois Workers Compensation Act. Under these laws, the Commission only has the authority to create procedural rules. The court determined the Commission had improperly created “new substantive rights for employees and new liabilities for employers,” which is the province of the Illinois Legislature, not the Commission.
Continue Reading Illinois withdraws rebuttable presumption rule for COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims

The SBA’s latest round of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) gives employers an important new tool to address one of the biggest challenges of trying to maximize PPP forgiveness: How to respond to employees who refuse to return to work by June 30, 2020.

Loan forgiveness is the cornerstone of the PPP, which was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). To protect jobs, the PPP’s offer of loan forgiveness is in part based on an employer’s ability to maintain headcount through the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, if between February 15, 2020 and April 26, 2020, an employer reduces its employee headcount, then the amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced. If the employer reinstates those employees by June 30, 2020, however, the loan forgiveness amount will not be reduced. Further explanation of the PPP and loan forgiveness reduction calculation can be found here.
Continue Reading Employees refusing to return to work? The SBA offers some protection of PPP forgiveness

On April 23, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced he would be extending the state stay-at-home order through May 30, 2020. The new extended order, which goes into effect on May 1, 2020, imposes a number of new restrictions, while lessening others.

New restrictions and requirements

  • Face covering required in public settings: Illinois residents over the age of two who are able to medically tolerate a face covering are required to wear face coverings when in public places where they are unable to maintain 6-foot distancing. Face coverings are also required in public indoor spaces such as stores.
  • Employers must provide employees with face coverings and PPE: Employers that are Essential Businesses and Operations and those engaged in Minimum Basic Operations, as those terms are defined in the order, must provide employees with face coverings and require employees to wear face coverings where maintaining a 6-foot distance is not possible at all times. Additionally, when the circumstances require, employers must provide employees with other personal protective equipment (PPE) in addition to face coverings.
  • Essential stores must provide employees with face coverings and follow additional distancing requirements: Consistent with the new required measure that employers provide face coverings/PPE to employees, retail stores designated as Essential Businesses and Operations under the executive order must provide face coverings to all employees who are not able to maintain 6-foot social distancing at all times. They must also, to the greatest extent possible:
    • Limit occupancy at 50% of store capacity or at the occupancy limits set by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity;
    • Set up store aisles to be one-way where practicable and identify the one-way aisles with signage and/or floor markings;
    • Inform customers about social distancing requirements established by the extended order through signs, announcements, and advertisements; and
    • Discontinue the use of reusable bags.
  • Manufacturers must follow social distancing requirements and take other precautions: In addition to following the social distancing requirements set forth in the order, manufacturers that continue to operate must take other appropriate precautions, which may include:
    • Providing face coverings to employees who are unable to maintain 6-foot social distancing at all times;
    • Staggering shifts;
    • Reducing line speeds;
    • Operating only essential lines;
    • Ensuring all spaces where employees may gather allow for social distancing; and
    • Downsizing operations to the extent necessary to allow for social distancing and a safe workplace.
  • Work-from-home encouraged, poster required: All businesses must evaluate which employees are able to work from home, and are encouraged to implement work-from-home arrangements when possible. If employees must physically report to a work-site, employers must post the guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Office of the Illinois Attorney General regarding workplace safety during the COVID-19 emergency.

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Continue Reading Face coverings required in Illinois, and other updates to stay-at-home order

On April 23, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced he will be extending the state stay-at-home order through May 31, 2020. While the new executive order has not yet been published as of the date of this blog’s publication, a press release issued by the governor’s office previews modifications to the order, including:

  • A requirement

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The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the U.S. workplace. Please click here for a series of FAQs we have compiled based on some of the more common questions that clients with U.S.-based employees have posed to us within the past few weeks.

These FAQs are general…

Effective April 16, 2020, an emergency amendment to Illinois’ workers’ compensation rules will make it easier for workers at essential businesses to obtain workers’ compensation benefits for COVID-19 related injuries. Specifically, the emergency amendment creates a rebuttable presumption that exposure of a “COVID-19 First Responder or Front Line Worker” to the virus arises out of and in the course of, and is causally connected to, their employment.

The emergency amendment broadly covers any individuals employed as police, fire personnel, emergency medical technicians, or paramedics and all individuals employed and considered as first responders, health care providers engaged in patient care, corrections officers, and the crucial personnel identified under Section 1, Parts 7-12 of the Illinois March 20, 2020 stay-at-home executive order. The reference to Parts 7-12 of the stay-at-home order means employees who work for the following types of businesses will be considered “COVID-19 First Responders or Front Line Workers”: …
Continue Reading Illinois makes workers’ compensation more accessible for COVID-19 essential workers

Please see an updated version of our FAQs as of April 18, 2020. 

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the U.S. workplace. Please click here for a series of FAQs we have compiled based on some of the more common questions that clients with U.S.-based employees…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed on March 27, 2020, authorizing more than $2 trillion to battle COVID-19 and its economic effects on the U.S. economy. For U.S. employers, the CARES Act provides significant support in the form of loans for small businesses, a loan forgiveness program to encourage employers to retain their workforces during this difficult time, and expanded unemployment benefits applying in most cases to terminated employees, furloughed employees, and those given reduced hours. It also significantly expands the definition of who can receive unemployment benefits to include self-employed workers in the gig economy, independent contractors, and those who may not have an expanded work history.

Although a more fulsome discussion of the contents of the CARES Act can be found here, the purpose of this blog is to discuss certain provisions of the CARES Act on a high level and to identify concerns that employers may face in making the decision to furlough or reduce their workforce.…

Continue Reading To RIF, or Not to RIF: How federal loans can help small and mid-size businesses under the CARES Act

Updated April 4, 2020

Effective April 1, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain private sector employers with fewer than 500 employees and governmental employers of all sizes to provide their employees with emergency paid sick leave and emergency paid medical leave. More information about the FFCRA is available here.

Given the current unknowns, many employers are evaluating the financial implications of the Act’s expansive mandatory paid leave and making difficult decisions, including reducing head count.

To incentivize employers (in particular, those deemed essential under various shelter orders) to retain their employees and bear the costs of emergency paid leave, the FFCRA offers covered employers a refundable payroll tax credit. This tax credit offsets the cost of the paid leaves required under the Act, and could make all the difference for certain businesses concerned that the cost of these paid leaves will run them out of business. Here’s how it works.
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Continue Reading FFCRA payroll tax credits: Here’s how it works

On March 23, 2020, in Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American Owned Media, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split on whether discrimination claims brought under section 1981 require “but-for” causation or whether they can be analyzed under Title VII’s “motivating factor” test. The Court confirmed “but-for” causation is required.

The plaintiff in the case, Entertainment Studios Network (ESN), is an African American-owned television network operator that sought to have Comcast carry its channels. Comcast refused, citing reasons such as lack of programming demand, bandwidth constraints, and a preference for other types of programming that ESN does not offer. ESN and the National Association of African American-Owned Media sued, alleging Comcast violated 42 U.S.C. section 1981, which guarantees “[a]ll persons…the same right…to make and enforce contracts…as is enjoyed by white citizens.”

On appeal from the district court’s dismissal of ESN’s complaint for failure to state a claim, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding ESN was only required to plead that race played “some role” in Comcast’s decision-making process.
Continue Reading Supreme Court confirms race discrimination claims under section 1981 require “but-for” causation