The Department of Labor has issued several resources on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act: a fact sheet for employers, a fact sheet for employees and a Questions and Answers resource. In particular, the last of these resources answers many, although certainly not all, of the multitude of questions that have arisen in the wake of the enactment of the FFCRA and its paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act requirements, which we discussed in our March 19, 2020 E-Lert.

Continue Reading DOL Provides Guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

As Maryland businesses know, Governor Hogan signed an Executive Order closing all non-essential businesses to the general public at 5 p.m. Monday, March 23, 2020. His office has since provided three separate Interpretive Guidance memos, listing the types of businesses deemed essential. The latest Guidance also provides further information regarding what actions non-essential businesses can continue to engage in, as well as how to determine whether a business is essential or not.

Continue Reading Is Your Business “Essential”? More Guidance From Governor Hogan’s Office

At 5:00 p.m. yesterday, March 23, 2020, Maryland Governor Hogan’s Executive Order closing all non-essential businesses to the general public took effect. The language of the Order was definitive, but the practical impact on businesses less so.

Continue Reading Additional Guidance On Governor Hogan’s Shutdown Order

Today, Governor Hogan announced an Executive Order, Number 20-03-23-01, closing all non-essential businesses to the general public at 5 p.m. today.  Although this is not a “shelter-in-place” directive, Marylanders are urged to stay home. This directive does close retail establishments that were previously permitted to remain open under earlier executive orders.

Continue Reading Maryland Orders Closure of Non-Essential Business To The Public

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has declared it a “direct threat,” thereby loosening the restrictions on employee medical testing and inquiries under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It has updated its 2009 pandemic guidance and its “What You Should Know About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19” resource accordingly.

Continue Reading EEOC Declares COVID-19 a “Direct Threat,” Updates 2009 Pandemic Guidance

Employment lawyers on the management side of the “v” (as in verses for you lucky enough never to have been sued) are hunkered down with our clients on the phone these days. We are figuring out minute by minute how to foretell the COVID-19 future, to determine what the feds will require, what the governors will mandate, and how to balance operational needs, financial insecurity, employee fear, leave from work and needs of clients for services, including vulnerable clients (patients, individuals who need medical equipment after discharge, patrons who need food and prescriptions – all the vital services that we assume are available and that businesses seamlessly provide in normal times).

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On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law. This law makes sweeping changes to an employer’s legal obligations: (1) imposing a paid sick and safe leave (“PSL”) mandate for COVID-19-related reasons on most employers with fewer than 500 employees; (2) temporarily expanding coverage for school and child care closures associated with COVID-19 and imposing a paid leave requirement under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) on these same employers; (3) encouraging states to extend unemployment benefits for reasons associated with COVID-19; and (4) giving a payroll tax credit to employers for the paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave mandates.

While we had previously provided a summary of the Act as it was originally passed by the House, and then another on the House’s substantive “technical amendments” to the Act, we are now summarizing the final law here.

Continue Reading The Families First Coronavirus Response Act Has Been Signed Into Law– What This Means for Employers

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, we provided a comprehensive summary of the paid leave and other employment-related provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 13. This bill makes sweeping changes to an employer’s legal obligations: (1) imposing a paid sick and safe leave (“PSL”) mandate for COVID-19-related reasons on most employers with fewer than 500 employees; (2) temporarily and vastly expanding coverage and imposing a paid leave requirement on these same employers under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) for school and child care closures associated with COVID-19; (3) making unemployment benefits available for reasons associated with COVID-19; and (4) giving a tax credit for paid sick and paid family and medical leave.

Continue Reading U.S. House of Representatives Amends the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act”

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation providing a wide scope of benefits and rights to individuals impacted by the COVID-19 national emergency. This legislation makes sweeping changes to an employer’s legal obligations: (1) imposing a general paid sick and safe leave mandate on all employers, with additional time for public health emergencies; (2) temporarily and vastly expanding coverage and imposing a paid leave requirement under the Family and Medical Leave Act for reasons associated with COVID-19; (3) making unemployment benefits available for reasons associated with COVID-19; and (4) giving a tax credit for paid sick and paid family and medical leave. Given that President Trump has already tweeted his support for the bill and the Senate is expected to follow suit, it is likely to be enacted in the coming days and would need to be immediately implemented by employers.

Continue Reading What The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” Means To Employers

This installment in our occasional series of extremely poor judgment by employees illustrates the point that social media has led to the downfall of many an FMLA abuser.

Continue Reading Extraordinary Employee Misconduct: FMLA Does Not Cover Travel to and from an NFL Game