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As we previously discussed, employers with fewer than 500 employees will no longer be legally required to provide employees with leaves of absence under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). As of January 1, 2021, covered employers may choose to voluntarily provide such leave through March 31, 2021, and continue to take tax credits for doing so.

Although FFCRA leave may now be an employer elective, covered employers in states and local jurisdictions that have passed their own COVID-19 leave laws may remain obligated to provide their eligible employees with COVID-19 leave. We previously discussed an expansion of Washington D.C.’s COVID-19 leave obligations through March 31, 2021. To a similar end, New York employers also have continuing COVID-19 leave obligations into 2021, and perhaps beyond.…
Continue Reading NY employers’ continuing COVID-19 leave obligations…for the foreseeable future

As we explained in a recent post, as of January 1, 2021, COVID-19 leave is no longer mandated under the federal Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA), although covered employers who voluntarily provide paid leave outlined in the FFCRA may take advantage of the FFCRA tax credit through March 31, 2021. Notwithstanding this change…

On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 guidance to address COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace. The EEOC’s guidance implies that a mandatory workplace vaccination program is lawful under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the other laws the EEOC administers provided that the employer provides disability and religious…

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued revised guidance in the form of three new Q&As on its website further clarifying when employers must inform OSHA if employees are hospitalized or die due to COVID-19.

By way of background, any on-the-job illness or injury that leads to hospitalization must be reported by…

On September 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised regulations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which generally requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave for certain COVID-19 related reasons. (We previously summarized the FFCRA’s leave requirements…

A new D.C. emergency law titled “Protecting Businesses and Workers from COVID-19 Emergency Amendment Act of 2020” (Act), signed by the Mayor on August 13, 2020, requires all private employers and D.C. agencies to take measures to protect workers from COVID-19 transmission. The Act requires employers immediately to adopt and implement worker protection policies related…

On August 27, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance (in FAQs numbered 98-100) clarifying how the childcare provisions of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) apply to various remote and in-person school situations. As a reminder, the FFCRA generally requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees and many public sector employers…