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On February 9, 2023, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued a Field Assistance Bulletin concerning the application of certain provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to teleworking employees. The bulletin provides guidance on compensable time, breaks for nursing employees who are teleworking, and FMLA eligibility rules for remote employees. …
Continue Reading Department of Labor Issues Guidance on the FLSA and FMLA for Remote Workers

On April 9, 2022, Maryland became just the tenth state (in addition to the District of Columbia) to enact a paid family and medical leave law that covers private-sector workers, after overriding Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) veto. …
Continue Reading Maryland Becomes the Tenth State to Pass a Paid Family Leave Law

Beginning in January, an expanded California leave law will require employers with as few as five employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical and family leave each year.  For larger employers also covered by the FMLA, the California leave may be in addition to the 12 weeks of leave that employers already must provide under federal law, for a potential total of up to six-months of leave.
Continue Reading California Expands Family and Medical Leave Law

On April 10, the Department of Labor published corrections to its regulation on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and fixed an internal inconsistency regarding concurrent use of employer-provided paid time off and paid expanded family medical leave under the Act.
Continue Reading Department of Labor’s Families First Corrections Fix Contradiction on Concurrent Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is set to take effect on April 1, 2020.  As we previously reported, the Act requires that employers with fewer than 500 employees provide two new forms of paid leave.  First, covered employers must provide up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work because of certain COVID-19 related reasons.  Second, covered employers must provide up to 10 weeks of paid FMLA leave (in addition to the 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave) to eligible employees who are unable to work or telework because they need to care for a child whose school or daycare is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. …
Continue Reading US DOL Issues Additional Guidance Regarding Paid Leave Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Department of Labor released posters that employers with fewer than 500 employees must use to meet the notice posting requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The DOL issued two posters, one for federal employers, available here and one for all other covered employers, available here.  The DOL also provided a questions and answers page regarding the notice posting requirement here.…

Continue Reading Department of Labor Releases Coronavirus Leave Posters

The Department of Labor released guidance Tuesday regarding the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, including details on how employers can determine whether they are covered by the Act.
Continue Reading DOL Explains 500-Employee Threshold, Provides Other Guidance on Coronavirus Response Act

The House amended its Coronavirus Response Bill late on March 16, 2020 and sent it on to the Senate.

Paid Sick Leave Changes

 The sick leave provisions of the bill remained largely intact, and would entitle employees of employers with fewer than 500 employees to take up to 80 hours of paid sick leave for coronavirus-related reasons, including required quarantining, caring for family members with the illness, or for emergency school closings.  To review our initial summary of the bill, which includes discussion of portions of the bill that were unaffected by the technical amendments, click here.  The amendments include a $511 daily cap for leave benefits for employees with their own personal coronavirus-related medical conditions, and a $200 cap for employees caring for others with such symptoms or for school closings.

Importantly, the sick leave amendments also allow the Secretary of Labor to grant exemptions to employers where the secretary determines that imposition of the paid sick leave requirements would “jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.”  It also allows healthcare and emergency response employers to apply for exemptions from the Secretary of Labor so that the law would not apply to their employees.…

Continue Reading UPDATE: House Amends Coronavirus Response Bill

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