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
On April 3, 2020, Governor Michael Parson announced that Missouri residents will be required to stay at home to protect the public health and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in accordance with an order issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (“DHSS”) to take effect on April 6, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. CT through April 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT, unless extended. The full text of the order can be found here. Governor Parson had declared a state of emergency on March 13, 2020, and directed the DHSS to mandate social distancing and discourage social gatherings of more than ten people. However, prior to the April 3 order, Missouri was one of only a few states nationwide that had yet to issue a statewide stay at home order.
Pursuant to the stay-at-home order, all Missouri residents should avoid leaving their homes or places of residence unless to work, to access food, prescription medication, health care, grocery stores, gas stations, banks or “other necessities,” or to engage in outdoor activity. The order also allows travel to and from their place of worship and permits the sale and transfer of firearms. Importantly, the order mandates that, at all times (including even when engaging in the above permitted activities), individuals must practice social distancing of at least six feet, and prohibits social gatherings of more than ten people at the same place and time.
Continue Reading Missouri issues statewide stay at home order to prevent spread of COVID-19
Valentine’s Day offers an annual reminder to every employer that Cupid’s arrow can strike at the workplace. According to certain studies, 25 to 50 percent of employees have been a part of a workplace romance. This might not be surprising given the amount of time employees spend with each other, in many cases over the course of several years, and the bonds that can form among and between coworkers who share common interests and experiences, whether professional or personal in nature.
So what can employers do to manage romantic and personal relationships when “love is in the air” at the workplace?
Employers may consider implementing a personal relationship policy to address the subject of workplace romances. Even if not required by law, having a written policy in place can be viewed as a best practice. A policy that clearly and effectively provides employees with guidance as to what is permitted and what is prohibited with respect to workplace romances, as well as the consequences for violations of the policy, can be beneficial to management and nonmanagement employees alike.
The City of Pittsburgh has provided much needed clarity regarding several lingering questions concerning the Paid Sick Days Act (the Act), which requires all private employers of full- or part-time employees within the City of Pittsburgh to provide paid sick leave benefits.
In July 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Act following a nearly four-year long legal battle. At that time, the effective date of the Act and the status of prior guidelines issued by the City was unsettled. This week, the City addressed some of those unsettled issues.
First, the City announced that the Act will take effect on March 15, 2020.
Continue Reading The City of Pittsburgh publishes new information regarding the Paid Sick Days Act
In 2015, the City of Pittsburgh enacted the Paid Sick Days Act (the “Act”), requiring all private employers of full or part-time employees within the City of Pittsburgh to provide paid sick leave benefits as follows:
The EEO-1 Report is a compliance survey mandated by federal law. Generally, employers with 100 or more employees and federal government prime contractors and first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and federal contracts worth at least $50,000 are required to submit EEO-1 Reports to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) annually.
A brief history on the expansion of the EEO-1 data reporting requirements
Historically, the EEO-1 Report has required employers to disclose certain demographic data on their workforce population based on job category, gender, race and ethnicity.
In 2016, the Obama Administration announced a plan to expand the EEO-1 data reporting requirements such that employers would be required to report two sets of data: “Component 1” data and “Component 2” data. Component 1 data includes the customary gender, race and ethnicity data historically required in the EEO-1 Report. Component 2 data, which was not previously required in the EEO-1 Report, includes an aggregate of all employees’ W-2 earnings and hours worked based on job category, salary range, gender, race and ethnicity.
The new pay data reporting requirements were scheduled for implementation during the 2017 EEO-1 reporting cycle, for which the filing deadline was March 31, 2018. However, in August 2017, the Trump Administration indefinitely froze the revised EEO-1 Report to reevaluate the need and purpose of the new reporting requirements.
The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (the Court) recently struck down the hotly contested Pittsburgh Paid Sick Leave Ordinance — bestowing a generous holiday gift on the thousands of Pittsburgh (City) employers that otherwise would have been forced to start providing paid sick leave to their workers in 2016.
Background
As passed by the City Counsel and signed into law by Mayor Bill Peduto earlier this year, the Ordinance required all private City employers to pay their covered employees for at least one hour of sick leave for each 35 hours worked. On an annual, per-employee basis, this would have meant up to 40 hours sick leave paid by entities with 15 or more employees, and up to 24 hours of such leave by those with fewer than 15 employees.
Continue Reading Pa. Judge Strikes Down Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
Last week, the Pittsburgh City Council passed the Paid Sick Days Act (the Act), which Mayor Bill Peduto is projected to sign into law shortly. The Act is expected to become effective 90 days after the mayor signs it and the city has published all notices, regulations and other associated materials required by law.
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This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which entitles eligible parents to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid job-protected leave within a 12-month period to care for a “son or daughter” with a serious health condition. Until recently, however, whether the FMLA’s definition of “son or daughter” included adult children has been unresolved.