US

Subscribe to US via RSS

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:

  • The following jurisdictions extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans: Delaware, Nebraska,

…

Government agencies are increasingly setting their sights on larger targets, ramping up enforcement efforts to root out systemic discrimination. This has important ramifications for employers who may suddenly find themselves defending a claim that, for all intents and purposes, feels like a class action, even though it started as an individual agency charge. With advancements in technology, large data sets on workforces are more common than ever, and government agencies are taking advantage of this and will not hesitate to request data on classes of individuals to search for trends indicating potential discrimination.

EEOC Intensifies Campaign against Systemic Discrimination

In her first public speech since being named as Chair of the EEOC, Charlotte Burrows pledged that the federal government’s workplace civil rights agency will emphasize enforcement of laws to combat systemic discrimination. This commitment to addressing systemic discrimination is consistent with President Biden’s plans to combat racism. (In January, Biden signed an executive order creating a government-wide “racial equity review” and underscoring enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Read more here.)Continue Reading Government Agencies Eye Larger Targets: How Employers Can Navigate the Increase in Systemic Litigation

Texas is now open for business–100% and without masks. On March 10, 2021, Executive Order GA-34 went into effect, lifting the COVID-19 mask mandate in Texas and increasing capacity of all businesses and facilities in the state to 100%. Except for indoor arenas and K-12 schools, Mississippi has followed suit. Other states have also recently eased mask mandates, increased occupancy limits on restaurants and bars, and rolled back restrictions on stadiums and theaters, while warnings from US infectious-disease experts abound.

It may be tempting for businesses to fully open as COVID-19 restrictions–some of which will soon see their one year anniversary–are pulled back. What should employers keep top-of-mind if the COVID-19 health and safety restrictions in their state or locality are loosened or rescinded?Continue Reading Masks Up or Down: What Employers Should Consider as States Roll Back COVID-19 Restrictions

The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed to put the final nail in the coffin on two Trump era rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that were favorable to employers. On March 12, 2021, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published in the Federal Register both a proposed rule to rescind the Trump administration’s rule on joint employer status under the FLSA and a proposed rule to withdraw the Trump administration’s rule on independent contractor status under the FLSA. In both cases, the DOL is seeking public comments for 30 days (until April 11, 2021). Neither of these proposed rules comes as a surprise to those keeping tabs on the Biden administration’s agenda, but the DOL has not proposed any new guidance, leaving employers wondering what comes next.
Continue Reading The DOL Proposes to Nix the Trump Administration’s Joint Employer and Independent Contractor Rules

As employers contemplate using compensation to incentivize employees and management toward achieving the company’s I&D goals, our global counselors and litigators share a framework for thinking through both the practical and legal considerations when designing a reward system related to I&D.

Click here to watch the video.

Special thanks to our guest contributors Melissa Allchin and Sandhya Sharma.

In this Mobility Minute, our Global Immigration and Mobility attorneys look at the significant change in who may qualify for travel to the US from the Schengen Area, United Kingdom and Ireland after the revocation of National Interest Exceptions for certain business travelers,…

Special thanks to guest contributors Ginger Partee and Matthew Gorman.

As the country awaits confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general to head the U.S. Department of Justice, employers in the U.S. should begin to consider what a Biden administration DOJ might mean for their workplace.

Biden has appointed…

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:

  • The following jurisdictions extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans: Alabama, Colorado,

…

The CDC has issued long-awaited guidance on what fully vaccinated individuals can and can’t do, in the workplace and elsewhere. On March 8, 2021, the CDC issued its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, its first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people. On the same day, the CDC posted an accompanying webpage entitled “When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated,” detailing what has and hasn’t changed for people who are fully vaccinated.

What should employers keep top-of-mind given this new guidance?

  1. Fully vaccinated employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they are asymptomatic

According to the CDC, employees are considered fully vaccinated:

  • 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series (like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines), or
  • 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine (like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine).

Fully vaccinated employees who have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 but who are asymptomatic do not need to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19 following the exposure, because risk of infection is low in a fully vaccinated person.

However, the CDC recommends fully vaccinated employees who do not quarantine still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should follow standard protocol: isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19 (including being tested for the virus, if indicated), and they should inform their health care provider of their vaccination status.Continue Reading The CDC Issues Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People