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Hannah L. Sorcic

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As we have previously reported, several states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, now require employees, customers and/or the public to wear face coverings.  As we have also written about, in other states, like California, local governments are leading the way.  For example, Bay Area counties Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa all require face coverings to some degree.  Since then, additional California municipalities have also joined, including San Bernardino, Riverside, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Carson, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Pasadena.  Links to our prior publications on these location-specific mandates can be found below.

Other states and municipalities continue to follow suit.  As of April 17, employees of essential businesses in Hawaii must wear face coverings.  On April 18, Maryland established a similar requirement for employees, as well as customers over nine years of age. Like California, in states that are not currently requiring face coverings, some local governments have taken the initiative to establish their own requirements.  For example, in Illinois, Cicero, Glenview, Highland Park, Morton Grove, Niles, Skokie and Wilmette have each implemented some type of face covering requirement.  Municipalities in other states that have joined the movement include Laredo, Texas; Miami, Florida; Northampton, Massachusetts; and Chickasaw, Oklahoma.
Continue Reading Employers must face it: Face covering requirements growing across states and municipalities

Referencing President Trump’s March 31, 2020 “30 Days to Slow the Spread” guidance, on April 1, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined the majority of other states and issued a Stay-at-Home Order.  The order takes effect on April 3, 2020 at 12.01 a.m.

The order instructs senior citizens and those with significant underlying medical conditions to stay at home and take all necessary measures to limit exposure to the virus.

Other individuals are required to limit their travel to what is necessary to provide or obtain “essential services” or to conduct “essential activities.”Continue Reading Florida issues statewide stay-at-home order

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.Continue Reading FFCRA payroll tax credits: Here’s how it works

Today the Department of Labor (DOL) updated the required poster that employers subject to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (those with fewer than 500 employees) must place on their premises to satisfy their employees of the rights requirement under the Act. The update corrects the 10 weeks of paid sick leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act expansion cap amount to $10,000.

Since a vast majority of employees are now working remotely, the DOL has advised that employers may satisfy the standard notice requirement of hanging the poster in a conspicuous place on the employer’s premises (i.e., a kitchen, breakroom or other accessible area) by emailing, or directly mailing, the notice to employees, or by posting the notice on the employer’s internal or external website. Employers that are not fully remote must also post the notice. Similarly, employers who are currently all remote must remember to post the notice once in-office operations resume. 
Continue Reading DOL issues updated FFCRA notice poster

Yesterday the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the required poster that employers subject the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (those with fewer than 500 employees) must place on their premises to satisfy the employees of rights requirement under the Act.

Since a vast majority of employees are now working remotely, the DOL has advised that employers may satisfy the standard notice requirement of hanging the poster in a conspicuous place on the employer’s premises (i.e., a kitchen, breakroom or other accessible area) by emailing, or directly mailing, the notice to employees, or by posting the notice on the employer’s internal or external website. Employers that are not fully remote must also post the notice. Similarly, employers who are currently all remote must remember to post the notice once in-office operations resume.Continue Reading DOL issues FFCRA notice poster

Employers seeking to continue business operations while also abiding by CDC guidance and other health and safety directives to curb COVID-19 exposure have been struggling with how to adhere to the in-person document review requirements for completing a new hire’s Form I-9.

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that, in limited circumstances, it will temporarily suspend the Form I-9 physical presence requirements for employers who are implementing remote working arrangements due to COVID-19.

The suspension will last for 60 days after the notice (that is May 19, 2020), or until 3 business days after the termination of a National Emergency designation, whichever comes first.Continue Reading DHS responds to COVID-19 by allowing exceptions to Form I-9 compliance for remote new hires

The afternoon of March 18, 2020, the Senate passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Division C of the Bill details the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, and Division E provides additional protections under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. Both divisions apply to employers with fewer than 500 employees.

At a high level, these laws work together so that, under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, qualifying employees will receive 80 hours of paid leave for immediate use, then they will received paid leave at two-thirds of the employee’s wages for the duration of a COVID-19 related Family and Medical Leave Act leave.

Key provisions of both laws are described below.

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (Effective 15 days after enactment)

This statute provides for additional benefits under the FMLA so that eligible employees will receive job protection and a paid component for certain COVID-19-related absences.

Which employers are covered? 

Employers with fewer than 500 employees are subject to the expansion. Part-time employees are included in this count to assess coverage.

The Secretary of Labor has authority “for good cause” to exempt (1) certain healthcare providers and emergency responders; and (2) small employers with fewer than 50 employees where the added expense would jeopardize the business. Under certain circumstances, the requirement to restore employees to their employment will not apply to businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

Additionally, an employer of employees who are healthcare providers or emergency responders may exclude these employees.

As a practical matter, larger employers that break up their workforce across smaller employing entities should review the respective employee populations for each entity to determine whether the expansion will apply to that population. In making this decision, consider what company is listed as the employer on an employee’s pay statement or review each Employer Identification Number separately.

Which employees are eligible?

Employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days will qualify for leave. Notably, the other FMLA employee eligibility requirements (e.g., hours worked) do not apply here.

Employers appear to have the discretion to exclude healthcare providers and emergency responders, though this language of the statute is in tension with the delegation of rulemaking authority to the Secretary of Labor to determine such exemptions.

What events will trigger coverage?

Employees who are unable to telework may use this leave if they must care for a child following the closure of a school or daycare, or other unavailability of childcare due to the coronavirus.

How does paid leave apply?

The first ten (10) days of FMLA leave may be unpaid (but see the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provisions, below).  Employees may elect to use their accrued vacation, personal or sick leave to cover this window, but employers may not require it. After this initial period, the employer will be required to pay at least two-thirds of an employee’s regular wages, according to their normally scheduled hours.

Payment is capped at $200 per day and $10,000 total for the duration of the leave.

The statute provides a formula for calculating payments for employees with varying or irregular schedules.

The expansion allows for up to twelve (12) weeks of coverage for all eligible employees in addition to the initial 10-day supplement provided by the Act.Continue Reading What employers need to know about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)

From March 6 to March 8, the United States reported more than 500 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), spanning at least 34 states. As the number of cases continues to grow, so will the number of employees seeking job protection under the Federal Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

What is the FMLA?

At a very high level, the FMLA is a federal law that guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protection for certain eligible employees dealing with their own serious health condition, or taking care of a qualifying family member with a serious health condition.

A serious health condition is broadly defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.

FMLA eligibility requires the following criteria:

  • The employee must have been employed with the company for 12 months
  • The employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of an FMLA leave
  • The employer employs 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of the worksite

Continue Reading COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act: An employer’s guide to medical leave and job protections

With the 2020 presidential primaries underway, now is the time for employers to review their voting leave policies to ensure that supervisors and human resources departments understand applicable law. In addition to avoiding legal liability, compliance with voting-related laws helps employers maintain workplace harmony during a potentially contentious period.

Currently, 30 states[1] (and Puerto…

As a reminder to Illinois employers, on January 1, 2020 “The Equitable Restrooms Act” took effect, requiring all single-occupancy (or one-person) restrooms in a place of public accommodation or public building to be identified as all-gender and designated for use by no more than one person at a time, or for family, or assisted use.  This means that any commonly used signage representing “women” or “men” must be removed and replaced with gender-neutral signage.
Continue Reading Illinois requires single-occupancy restrooms to be gender neutral