On September 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1383 (SB-1383), which significantly expands employee eligibility for family and medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2021, reduces the number of employees required for an employer to be covered under the CFRA and … Continue Reading
On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new administrative rule concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal law that provides two forms of COVID-19-related paid time off to employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The rule comes just over a month after a New York … Continue Reading
As we previously detailed here and here, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently outlined guidelines for when Empire State businesses can reopen and return to “in-person” operations. Under the Governor’s plan, reopenings are being determined, first, on a region-by-region basis and then, once a region is eligible to reopen, on a phased industry-by-industry basis. … Continue Reading
Over recent weeks, the UK government has announced the first steps it is taking to get businesses up and running again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This publication highlights a number of key areas for UK employers to consider as they start to plan ahead to re-establish and maintain their businesses, while at … Continue Reading
On May 6, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-62-20, which dramatically expands workers’ compensation eligibility for employees who are diagnosed with COVID-19, as part of his continued plan to create a robust safety net for California workers. The Order creates a rebuttable presumption that employees who test positive for or are diagnosed with … Continue Reading
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the U.S. workplace. We have prepared a series of FAQs compiled based on some of the more common questions that clients with California-based employees have posed to us over roughly the past six weeks. These FAQs are general and high-level … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the US Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated regulations to implement the recently enacted Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), both of which are part of the broader Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The regulations address several key issues that were unclear in … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2020, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of the UK government’s measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen various iterations of guidance on the Scheme (on 26 March, 4 April, 9 April, 15 April and 17 April), and … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2020, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of the UK government’s measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen various iterations of guidance on the Scheme (on 26 March, 4 April, 9 April, and 15 April), and on 15 … Continue Reading
On April 14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed bill S2374 into law, marking the second time since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak that the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) has been amended. Our blog post about the prior change is available here. The NJFLA, which covers all employers in the state with 30 or … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
What a month March has been! With the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold across the UK and globally, we’ve seen the UK government responding to the crisis by imposing increasingly restrictive limits on our activities, closing schools and workplaces, introducing emergency legislation within days, and announcing unprecedented levels of financial support. With updates and developments happening … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a pre-recorded webinar called “Ask the EEOC” on its website. The purpose of the webinar was to answer COVID-19 workplace questions arising under the federal employment discrimination laws the EEOC enforces. Prior to recording the webinar, and in an effort to ensure that the … Continue Reading
On Friday 20 March 2020, the UK government announced a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of its package of measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. Following the announcement, separate guidance for employers and employees was issued but it is very early days in terms of understanding the detail … Continue Reading
On March 19, 2020, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued an order directing all non-life-sustaining businesses to close their physical locations effective March 19 at 8 p.m. The order provides a process for applying for a waiver, but, due to the high volume of waiver requests, enforcement … Continue Reading
Two days ago, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring that, by 8 pm tonight, Empire State businesses reduce their “in-person” workforces at any physical work locations by 50%. Yesterday, that number jumped to 75%. Today, however, Governor Cuomo announced that he is increasing the reduction to 100% of “in-person” New York … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
On March 16, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced a Workers and Families First Program to provide additional paid sick leave benefits for employees affected by COVID-19. The plan includes $10 million in funding that will allow businesses to provide an additional five days of sick leave pay beyond their existing policies. All … Continue Reading
The coronavirus outbreak has been declared an international public health emergency, and the current risk level in the UK has been set at ‘moderate’. There are no current signs of the spread slowing down, with an increasing number of positive tests in the UK and worldwide. On 3 March 2020, the UK government announced that … Continue Reading
