Employment

Subscribe to Employment

On June 26, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division Head, Cheryl Stanton, issued two guidance bulletins relating to the impact of COVID-19. The first bulletin, Field Assistance Bulletin Number 2020-3, relates to the impact of COVID-19 on child labor laws, and the second bulletin, Field Assistance Bulletin Number 2020-4, provides guidance on child care leave pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).…
Continue Reading Department of Labor Releases COVID-19 Guidance on the Effect of Closed Schools on Child Labor Laws and Leave for Ruined Summer Camp Plans

We have updated and added to our frequently asked questions (FAQs) from U.S. employers relating to COVID-19 and developments in employment law. These updates include new Q&As regarding Returning to Work and Reasonable Accommodations and an Unemployment section.

These FAQs provide general guidance based on the current understanding of COVID-19 and federal law. Different conclusions…

DOL has finalized a Notice and Access safe harbor for certain required disclosures to participants and beneficiaries of retirement plans. Employers may effectively rely on this safe harbor immediately. The safe harbor allows employers to provide more disclosures to more participants and beneficiaries via electronic means that was previously permissible. In addition to other requirements, …

Factory shop. Abstract industrial background, motion blur effect
Factory shop, view from the top point. Abstract industrial background, motion blur effect.

In light of states beginning to reopen and more employees returning to the workplace, the CDC has created a webpage called “COVID-19 Employer Information for Office Buildings,” which provides guidance to employers, building owners and managers, and building operations specialists on how to safely reopen office buildings. The CDC recommends that employers do…

On May 19, 2020, the Long Beach (California) City Council adopted the COVID-19 Paid Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Emergency Ordinance.  The ordinance is effective immediately and applies to businesses with 500 or more employees nationally and was described by the city council as a measure to “fill the gap” left by the federal Families…

On May 18, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to “allow employers in retail and service industries to exempt certain employees paid primarily on a commission basis from overtime.” The final rule addresses the FLSA’s exemption from its overtime compensation requirement for certain commission-based employees employed by a retail or service establishment. Generally, Section 7(i) of the FLSA relieves employers in retail and service industries from paying overtime compensation to certain employees paid primarily on the basis of commissions. As stated in the background to the new final rule:

[i]n order for an employee to come within this exemption, ‘the regular rate of pay of such employee [must be] in excess of one and one-half times the [Act’s minimum wage],’ and ‘more than half [of the employee’s] compensation for a representative period (not less than one month) [must represent] commissions on goods or services.’ 29 USC 207 (i). In addition, the employee must be employed by a retail or service establishment, which had been defined in section 13(a)(2) of the Act as ‘an establishment 75 per centum of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (or of both) is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry.’ (citations omitted).

…
Continue Reading New DOL Rule Will Expand Which Employers May Qualify as a “Retail” Businesses for Purposes of FLSA Overtime Exemption

Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance publication, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.” Expanded additional questions and answers provide information about the accommodation of employees with underlying medical conditions, particularly now as certain employers and jurisdictions eye some form of return to work for parts of their workforces.
…
Continue Reading EEOC Provides Additional Guidance Regarding Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance as Employees Begin to Return to Work

During a press briefing on May 6, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an Executive Order that appears to create a time-limited rebuttable presumption related to the application of workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contracted COVID-19 while working outside of their homes during the period of March 19, 2020 (the date of California’s Stay-at-Home…