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Employment Law

What you can, can’t ask staff during pandemic

04/09/2020
When workers ask for leave because they can’t or don’t want to come to work, you need to know exactly what you can and cannot ask.

DOL issues temporary paid leave regs

04/03/2020
The Department of Labor has issued temporary regulations covering the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The temporary regs became effective April 1, 2020, and will expire Dec. 31, 2020. The regs will appear in the Federal Register on April 6.

Court: You must accommodate medical pot

04/02/2020
A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision should remind employers everywhere that medical marijuana is a fluid area of the law. If the court’s legal reasoning takes hold nationwide, you may be forced to accommodate your employees’ legal cannabis use.

Ditch existing accommodation at your peril

04/02/2020
If a disabled employee has successfully used a simple, informal accommodation for years, don’t summarily make him stop without discussing the decision. In fact, before removing any accommodation, you must engage in the ADA’s interactive reasonable accommodation process.

Supreme Court limits discrimination lawsuits

04/02/2020
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 23 ruled that contractors alleging race discrimination must show that bias was the only reason an entity refused to enter into a contract.

Who is and isn’t eligible for emergency leave?

04/02/2020
Central to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which took effect April 1, are provisions granting emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave to certain employees who have been affected by the pandemic. However, there is lots of confusion about who may take that leave and how much they will be paid.

Protect your intellectual property while employees telework

03/31/2020
Millions of new teleworkers have begun firing up their laptops each morning and logging into their employers’ intranets, trying to do work while under orders to stay home. As you and your co-workers scramble to adjust and keep working, don’t forget about protecting your company’s intellectual property.

DOL issues employer guidance on leave provisions of FFCRA

03/31/2020
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued a new round of guidance telling employers how to comply with the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave benefits written into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that went into effect April 1.

Coronavirus & HIPAA: What can you divulge?

03/31/2020
Your employees are understandably nervous about health risks at work these days. For those who must be physically present at your workplace, any news of a sick co-worker will spur concern. You must be prepared to answer employees’ questions without violating privacy laws.

National Guard call-ups trigger USERRA obligations

03/24/2020
Once National Guard or Reserve units are activated, employers have specific responsibilities under USERRA—the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.