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DOL Provides Additional Critical Guidance on the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Guy Brenner, Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Rachel Therese Gulotta on Posted in Coronavirus
*** Last updated March 28, 2020 *** The recently-passed Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides paid sick leave and emergency family leave, has raised many questions for employers. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has attempted to answer some of these questions by posting guidance for employers and employees on its website. Since … Continue Reading

Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Signed into Law

By Harris Mufson, Evandro Gigante, Rachel Therese Gulotta and Meika Freeman on Posted in Coronavirus
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The CARES Act is a $2.2 trillion stimulus package aimed at offering economic relief to individuals, businesses, industries, and state and local governments during the Coronavirus pandemic. The following is a summary of the key … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Releases Model Notice Required by the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Meika Freeman on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) released the model notice that covered employers must post regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), along with Frequently Asked Questions regarding the notice requirements. You can read more about the recently enacted FFCRA here, as well as the WHD’s … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Releases Initial Guidance on the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Guy Brenner, Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Meika Freeman on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
*** Please note that the Department of Labor is updating (and in some cases revising) its initial guidance on a rolling basis, so be sure to click on the Questions and Answers link for the most current version. A blog post on the most recent updates to the guidance can be found here. *** On … Continue Reading

Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act Signed Into Law

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant, Arielle E. Kobetz and Heylee Bernstein on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
*** UPDATE: The Department of Labor has issued guidance stating that the law will take effect on April 1, 2020.  More information on the guidance can be found on our blog post here.*** On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into the law the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Family First Act” or the … Continue Reading

Family First Coronavirus Response Act: What Employers Need to Know

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Arielle E. Kobetz, Heylee Bernstein and Laura Fant on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
*** IMPORTANT NOTE: On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed an amended version of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act into law that modifies some of the provisions discussed below.  Read more on our updated blog post here. ***   On March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6201, also known … Continue Reading

Coronavirus Concerns Grow As World Health Organization Declares Pandemic

By Harris Mufson, Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant, Nayirie K. Mehdikhani and Rachel Therese Gulotta on Posted in Coronavirus, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Coronovirus**Updated March 12, 2020** Declaration of Coronavirus Pandemic by the World Health Organization On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, but more commonly known simply as the “Coronavirus”), which has spread to over 100 countries and territories.  The WHO … Continue Reading

Coronavirus Concerns Continue as CDC Issues Additional Travel Notices

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Nayirie K. Mehdikhani on Posted in Coronavirus, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
CDC LogoAs employers are likely aware, cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, but more commonly known simply as the “Coronavirus”) continue to spread. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to maintain that the risk to the general U.S. population presently remains low, the CDC is now … Continue Reading

CDC Releases Guidance for Employers Regarding the Coronavirus

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Nayirie K. Mehdikhani on Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Coronavirus, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
CDC LogoAs the recent Coronavirus outbreak continues, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released guidance specifically for employers, outlining recommendations and best practices to protect their workplaces. As we previously addressed in detail in our prior blog on Coronavirus and the Workplace, employers may face a number of issues related to the Coronavirus … Continue Reading

Coronavirus and the Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant, Nayirie K. Mehdikhani and Alex Downie on Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Coronavirus, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Coronovirus*** Last Updated: March 13, 2020 *** News that cases of the newly-identified 2019 Novel Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19, 2019-nCoV, or SARS-CoV-2, but more commonly known simply as the “Coronavirus”) continue to spread has prompted employers to think about employee safety and ways to address prevention in the workplace, as well as planning … Continue Reading

Emerging Trend: ADA Does Not Cover Potential Future Disabilities

By Harris Mufson, Laura Fant and Jacob L. Hirsch on Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
Heeding the adage “no one knows what the future may hold,” the Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have uniformly refused to extend protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees with a perceived risk of a potential impairment. In each case, an employer either declined to hire an applicant or terminated an employee … Continue Reading

Voting and Other Political Activities: Is Your Workplace Ready for Election Day?

By Evandro Gigante and Laura Fant on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Hand dropping ballot into boxAnother Election Day is just around the corner. And with nearly every state having at least one law addressing voting leave and/or other political-related activities, it can be easy to get tripped up in the details. In addition, some states, including New York, have recently updated their employee voting laws. The following is an overview … Continue Reading

Fewer Than 100 Days Until the New Overtime Rule Takes Effect: Is Your Company Ready?

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
On January 1, 2020, the new federal overtime rule takes effect.  Other than in states with already-higher minimum salaries for exemption (which include California and, for certain types of employees, New York), employers will be required to pay most executive, administrative, and professional employees at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year).  Are you ready for … Continue Reading

The New Federal Overtime Rule:  What You Need to Know

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations today, without any significant changes from the proposed rule the agency issued in March 2019.  Here’s the bottom line: The salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or professional employee will jump from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Proposes Revisions to Model FMLA Forms

By Evandro Gigante and Laura Fant on Posted in Leaves of Absences
The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division is proposing revisions to its model notice of rights, certification, and designation forms under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Employers may, but are not required to, utilize the model forms to satisfy their notice requirements under the law and to obtain necessary information … Continue Reading

Dems Introduce Bills to Raise Salary Minimum for Overtime Exemption

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Members of the House and Senate introduced companion bills on June 11, 2019 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to raise the minimum salary threshold for exempt executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”) employees to north of $50,000 and to automatically update the threshold every three years. The “Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019” (H.R. … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Filing an EEOC Charge Is Not a Jurisdictional Requirement for Title VII Suits

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Litigation and Arbitration
In a unanimous decision in Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis, the United States Supreme Court held that while an employee has a mandatory obligation to file a charge with the EEOC prior to bringing a discrimination suit under Title VII, such obligation is a procedural, rather than jurisdictional, requirement.  The key takeaway for employers … Continue Reading

DOL Validates Independent Contractor Relationships in the On-Demand Marketplace

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In an opinion letter issued April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division concluded that a “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) that connects service providers with consumers is not the employer of the service providers.  The opinion should be a welcome one not only for VMCs and businesses in the “gig economy,” … Continue Reading

Proposed Overtime Rule Published; Public Comment Period Open Until May 21

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed new overtime rule was published in the Federal Register today.  As described in our earlier post, the proposed new rule would: Raise the salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or professional employee to $679 per week ($35,308 per year). Allow employers to satisfy up to 10% of the … Continue Reading

Unboxing The Proposed New Federal Overtime Rule

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s here.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division unveiled its proposed new overtime rule today.  We skipped the 200-plus pages of preamble and jumped right to the proposed regulatory amendments themselves (we’ll digest the prefatory materials in another post).  Here’s the deal: The salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or … Continue Reading

Moonlighting Police Officers Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors, Says Sixth Circuit

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
In yet another legal development calling into question a traditional independent contractor relationship in the U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that off-duty police officers were employees of a private security company for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  In Acosta v. Off Duty Police Services, Inc. (6th Cir. Feb. … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: Recent Developments in Federal Overtime Rules

By Harris Mufson and Allan Bloom on Posted in The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Wage and Hour
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, senior counsel Harris Mufson and partner Allan Bloom discuss recent developments in federal overtime rules.  The Trump administration recently released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda, with lots of information relating to the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL appears to be committed to a more business-friendly regulatory framework … Continue Reading
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