COVID-19

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Just over two weeks after it relaxed its protocols for fully-vaccinated individuals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now issued revised guidance essentially permitting those individuals to resume their pre-pandemic lifestyle, subject to any applicable and differing state and local mandates. Consistent with prior iterations of this guidance, the CDC asserts that “You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.” So what can employers do now? Well, we’ve now updated our last blog post on this topic (and then further updated to account for OSHA’s latest pronouncement).
Continue Reading UPDATED: Back to Normal for the Fully Vaccinated? What the CDC’s Latest Guidance Means for Employers

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further relaxed its COVID-19 protocols for fully vaccinated individuals. Of significance to employers, the CDC continues to assert that such individuals should continue to “[f]ollow guidance issued by individual employers.” But what impact might these looser rules have in the workplace? We had previously offered some guidance the last time the CDC adjusted the rules, and have now updated that guidance.
Continue Reading The CDC’s Revised Rules for the Fully Vaccinated: What This Means for Employers

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a tumultuous session for the Maryland General Assembly, whose 2021 session ended at midnight on Monday, April 12. Among the many bills that passed, there were a number of significance to employers, including protection for essential workers in a catastrophic public health emergency, bereavement leave, workplace peace orders, an extension of the time in which to file complaints of discrimination with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, modifications to the mass layoff law, and requirements for gender diversity on boards and in executive management in order to qualify for certain state benefits, among other things.
Continue Reading New Employment Laws in Maryland – Protection for Essential Workers, Bereavement Leave, Workplace Peace Orders, and More! (And a Webinar!)

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many employers have permitted or mandated telework arrangements for their employees.  As more people become vaccinated and the number of new COVID-19 cases declines, however, those employers will likely begin to recall their employees to the office.  Unsurprisingly, many employees have become accustomed to working from home over the past year, and enjoy the ability to wake up, throw on athleisure, and do a couple loads of laundry as they go about their workday.  This begs the question: is an employer obligated to permit an employee to telework simply because the employee finds working from home more preferable, desirable, or convenient than going to the office?   A federal judge in the District of Columbia recently said “no.”
Continue Reading Employees Don’t Get to Telework Just Because They Want To…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance on workplace vaccination programs that reiterates and expands upon prior guidance on this topic, with the intent of increasing vaccine uptake among essential (and other) workers. According to the CDC, vaccinations benefit both employers and employees by keeping the workforce healthy, reducing absences, and improving both productivity and morale. The CDC offers specific tips on the following topics: vaccination options, on-site and off-site vaccinations, building confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, determining when employees may be vaccinated, vaccine mandates and exemptions, best practices, other considerations, and reopening the workplace.
Continue Reading The CDC’s New Guidance on Workplace Vaccination Programs; What Employers Need to Know

In addition to expanding and extending the tax credits that employers may opt to receive under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act for voluntarily providing paid COVID-19-related leave through September 30, 2021, which we discussed in our March 12, 2021 E-lert, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) contains several other important employment-related provisions: (1) an extension and expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, with the creation of a new restaurant grant program; (2) continuation of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits; (3) a new COBRA premium subsidy; and (4) extension and expansion of the employee retention tax credit.
Continue Reading Beyond Paid Leave – The Other Employment-Related Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, both expands and extends the tax credits that employers may opt to receive under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for voluntarily providing paid COVID-19-related leave through September 30, 2021.
Continue Reading Employers May Now Voluntarily Provide Up to 14 Weeks of Paid, Expanded FFCRA Leave and Receive a Tax Credit

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new, more relaxed COVID-19 protocols for fully-vaccinated individuals. Notably, among the guidance, the CDC stated that such individuals should continue to “[f]ollow guidance from individual employers.” But should employers modify their existing guidance to account for these new protocols?
Continue Reading Looser COVID-19 Rules for Vaccinated Individuals? What This Means for Employers