By Heather Sager, Brittany Sachs, Jill Ripke, and Lauren Kulpa
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new questions and updated its guidance on September 8, 2020, covering a range of topics including keeping employee medical information confidential while employees are working remotely, whether employers can ask employees who are
By Heather Sager, Brittany Sachs, Jill Ripke, Lauren Kulpa, Matthew Goldberg
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-5 (Bulletin) in late August 2020 that addressed the subject of an employer’s obligation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to exercise reasonable diligence in tracking the hours of work for non-exempt employees working remotely. The Bulletin recognizes the need under the FLSA for employers to pay employees for all hours worked, including work performed at home. But it also recognizes that when non-exempt employees work remotely at locations not controlled by the employer that it may be difficult to define what an employer actually knows with regard to the time worked.
Continue Reading DOL Issues Guidance for Tracking Non-Exempt Remote Workers’ Time
By Heather Sager, Brittany Sachs, Jill Ripke, Lauren Kulpa, Matthew Goldberg
As California continues to navigate the quagmire of reopening the state amidst an unrelenting global pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” (Blueprint) to determine when businesses can and cannot open. The new metric employs a color system, where each county is assigned a color based upon “risk-based criteria.” Under the system, lower risk activities or sectors can open sooner and high-risk activities and sectors cannot open until later phases. The scheme is as follows:
Continue Reading California Unveils a New “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” to Manage the Pandemic
By Heather Sager, Jill Ripke, Lauren Kulpa, and Alex Pratt
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to make available additional unemployment payments for those who lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. Upon a grant from the Federal Emergency
Misinformation is rampant in our current COVID-19 world. On this episode, Perkins Coie partners Ann Marie Painter and Jill B. Louis are joined by Carolee Estelle, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, who provides some straight answers about the COVID-19 virus, what we know
By Heather Sager, Brittany Sachs, Lauren Kulpa and Jill Ripke
On April 1, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated its Final Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA requires covered employers to offer emergency paid sick leave (EPSLA) and emergency family and medical leave (EFMLEA) to employees under various circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, summarized in more detail here.
Since implementation, employers have scrambled to understand their obligations under the FFCRA and to provide the leave required under the new legislation. Shortly after the DOL issued its regulations, the State of New York filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, State of New York v. United States Department of Labor, Case No. 20-CV-3020 (JPO), and simultaneously moved for summary judgment, attacking various requirements set forth in the regulations. On April 28, 2020, the DOL cross-moved for summary judgment and to dismiss for lack of standing.[1]
By Heather Sager, Jill Ripke, and Jessica Millar
On July 24, 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) published its 33-page COVID-19 Employer Playbook for a Safe Reopening. The Playbook “provides guidance for employers to help them plan and prepare for reopening their business and to support a safe, clean environment
By Jill Ripke and Katelyn Sullivan
On July 24, 2020, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) updated its DFEH Employment Information on COVID-19 FAQ in accordance with the ever-changing nature of the pandemic. The DFEH guidance is aimed at answering “frequently asked questions about how to keep workplaces safe during the COVID-19
By Jill Ripke, Lauren Kulpa, Brittany Sachs and Katelyn Sullivan
On July 23, 2020, the CDC issued guidance for K-12 school administrators to safely return to school in the fall of 2020. The CDC update is expressly intended as an aid for these administrators “as they consider how to protect the health, safety,
By Lauren Kulpa, Jill Ripke, and Brittany Sachs
On July 17, the CDC updated its guidance on when persons with COVID-19, or those who have symptoms of COVID-19, may discontinue home isolation. The updated three-part standard is less restrictive than its previous iteration. A summary of the evidence and rationale for these