On August 10, 2021, the Third Circuit in Travers v. Federal Express Corporation revived a class action lawsuit under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994 (“USERRA”), holding that employers must provide servicemembers with pay during military leave when employers pay employees on “comparable types of leave.”
Continue Reading The Third Circuit Opens The Door to Class Actions Seeking Paid Military Leave
On June 1, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a NLRB determination that a manager’s incorrect blaming of a union for discrepancies in an employee’s paid-leave time constituted an unfair labor practice. The pivotal issue was whether the manager’s statements had a reasonable tendency to interfere with employees’ labor rights. As discussed below, the D.C. Circuit rejected the NLRB’s determination that the manager’s statements had a reasonable tendency to interfere with employees’ labor rights, reasoning that the manager’s misstatements were lawful expressions of the employer’s opinions.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Clarifies Boundaries of Protected Employer Expressions
California recently enacted Assembly Bill 1867, requiring all private employers with 500 or more employees to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for their California employees. Employers must begin providing supplemental sick leave, under the new law, no later than September 19, 2020. The law will remain in effect until the later of December 31, 2020 or expiration of any federal extension of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Continue Reading California Expands COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave
On August 3, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down portions of the DOL’s Final Rule regarding who qualifies for COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, collectively referred to at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Of particular importance to employers, the Court invalidated two provisions of the DOL’s Final Rule pertaining to: (1) conditioning leave on the availability of work and (2) the need to obtain employer consent prior to taking leave on an intermittent basis.
Continue Reading Federal Court Strikes Down Portions of Department of Labor’s Final Rule On COVID-19 Leave, Expands Coverage
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed employers to an influx of novel employment law issues. Many employers already have experienced an uptick in related internal complaints or litigation. We identify five particular employment law liabilities employers may be exposed to once the dust settles from the pandemic.
Continue Reading Top Five Employment Law Liabilities Facing Employers Post-Pandemic
Los Angeles (LA) Mayor Eric Garcetti has issued an emergency order modifying the City’s recently passed COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave requirements. The prior ordinance, adopted on March 27, 2020, by the LA City Council, had required LA employers with 500 + employees nationally, to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave. In a nod to the instrumental role employers will play in the City’s revival in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, Mayor Garcetti modified the paid leave requirements in a number of key ways.
Continue Reading COVID 19: Mayor Modifies Prior City of Los Angeles Paid Sick Leave Obligations, Narrowing and Clarifying Requirements
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020 as a federal response to the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus. As we previously reported, the Act greatly expands unemployment benefits for workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but many questions remained about how the Act would be applied. The DOL recently issued guidance answering some of these questions.
Continue Reading US DOL Issues Guidance Regarding Unemployment Benefits Under the Newly Enacted CARES Act
The Department of Labor issued its Final Rule regarding implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on April 1, but it does not resolve all outstanding questions for employers.
Continue Reading Families First Regulations Provide Some Clarity, Some Confusion
On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, an unprecedented $2 trillion economic rescue plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our firm has previously summarized the CARES Act’s tax and health and retirement benefits provisions. Below, we summarize additional aspects of the Act that impact the workplace.
Continue Reading Key Employment-Related Provisions In Newly-Enacted CARES Act
As the national response to COVID-19 intensifies, states and localities across the country have announced school closures. Employers should review their state and local laws to determine whether such closings may trigger an employee’s right to take job-protected, or paid leave.
Continue Reading Emergency School Closures and Paid Sick Leave – What Employers Need to Know