We recently published an update to our 50-state Shelter-In-Place / Reopening Tracker.
Baker McKenzie has a team in place that has been advising clients real-time on these most critical issues since the first orders were enacted. We are pleased to provide this Tracker, which identifies the relevant state-wide shelter-in-place orders and their related expiration dates,
The confusion over evolving state and local quarantine orders can be a challenge for employers with employees visiting hotspot areas. This week we discuss what employers can do when employees travel to a COVID-19 hotspot and have to quarantine when they arrive or return.
Please click here to watch this week’s video chat.
On July 20, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor (DOL) published additional COVID-19 guidance in the form of a Q&A addressing Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) issues arising when employers and employees return to work.
A few days before, on July 17, the DOL published streamlined optional-use forms for employer and employee notification and certification obligations under the FMLA and separately asked the public to comment on the FMLA and its regulations in a Request for Information (RFI). The additional guidance and forms should help employers navigate FMLA leave and employee wage and hour issues during COVID-19. And employers now have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the FMLA and its implementing regulations with the DOL. We provide more insight into the DOL’s recent activity below.
We recently published an update to our 50-state Shelter-In-Place / Reopening Tracker.
Please see HERE. This is updated weekly.
For your convenience, here is a summary of the major updates from around the country:
Please see HERE. This is updated weekly.
For your convenience, here is a summary of the major updates from around the country:
Parents and employers are both challenged by this conundrum. This week we discuss the complications that arise for employers as students return (and do not return) to virtual and in-person campuses, and practical tips for navigating obligations under state and local leave laws, FFCRA and more.
Please click here to watch this week’s video chat.
On July 2, 2020, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) supplemented its prior COVID-19 guidance (Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 and Guidance on Returning to Work) with additional FAQ guidance covering topics such as best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection in the workplace, workplace testing, and worker training. Though the guidance is not a standard or regulation itself (and therefore creates no new legal obligations for employers), it provides practical answers to actual inquiries OSHA received from the public regarding COVID-19 and workplace safety, and refers to pertinent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and applicable OSHA standards for employers to consider.
OSHA grouped the FAQs by topic for easy navigation. Several of the key FAQs for employers are summarized below.
Employers should assess worker exposure to hazards and risks and implement infection prevention measures to reasonably address them consistent with OSHA Standards. Such measures could include:
Employers subject to OSHA’s PPE standard must also provide and require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when needed, and must conduct job hazard assessments to determine the appropriate type and level of PPE required.
The US Department of Labor and US Department of Health and Human Services’ Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 and OSHA’s Prevent Worker Exposure to COVID-19 alert provide more information on steps all employers can take to reduce workers’ risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Learn more about preventing the spread of COVID-19 from OSHA and CDC.
Employers should review the CDC’s updated information about cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, workplaces, businesses, schools, and homes.
Continue Reading OSHA Publishes New FAQ Guidance on COVID-19 in Response to Public Inquiry
As we approach our 20th video chat in this series, we hope you have found these quick and bite-sized video chats with our employment partners helpful and informative. These Q&A-styled sessions offer targeted insights into the most timely and critical issues that US employers are facing as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with our
On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act into law. The Flexibility Act amends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in several important ways, including by giving borrowers more time to spend loan funds and still obtain forgiveness, increasing the amount of non-payroll costs that may be forgiven, and creating two new “safe harbors” that allow borrowers to achieve full forgiveness despite reductions in employee headcount or wages.
Congress enacted the PPP provisions largely to allow small businesses to meet their payroll obligations and avoid layoffs during the pandemic. To encourage businesses to keep their workforces and payrolls intact, the CARES Act provides that employers who do not reduce headcount or wages and salaries during certain measurement periods may qualify for forgiveness of their PPP balances. However, under the CARES Act as originally enacted, forgiveness is reduced or eliminated if employers lay off workers or reduce their wages.
One of the new “safe harbors” allows employers who have been unable to operate at the same level of business activity as a result of compliance with COVID-19 related federal safety guidelines and closure orders to obtain full forgiveness even though they have reduced employee headcount. But if employers can fit within the Flexibility Act’s new safe harbor, is it really “safe” for them to do so? We offer insight below.
Continue Reading Is it Safe to Rely on the PPP Flexibility Act Safe Harbor for Reduced Activity Levels?
Across the country, minimum wage rates will increase July 1 in several counties, cities and states. A few jurisdictions have postponed their scheduled increases in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, but most jurisdictions have not, and employers will need to implement the higher minimums by month’s end. Below we summarize for you the upcoming increases.
The Bay Area cities of Hayward and San Carlos voted to delay their local minimum wage increases until January 1, 2021. Other jurisdictions are considering delays, but for now, local minimum wages will increase in the following jurisdictions effective July 1, 2020.
Continue Reading Minimum Wage Increases in July 2020: Are You Prepared?
