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We are pleased to share a recent SHRM article, “When Should Employers Reimburse Expenses for Remote Workers?,” with quotes from Robin Samuel. This article discusses reimbursing home-based employees for workplace related expenses since they are now working from home due to COVID-19.

Click here to view the article.

 

This article was originally published in SHRM.

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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 governors of Colorado, Georgia, Rhode Island and Wyoming, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans.
  • Idaho and Nebraska moved back the previous stage of their respective reopening plans and Michigan further limited the size of permissible social gatherings.
  • Colorado has implemented a new plan called the “COVID-19 Dial Framework.” Moving forward, each county or region of Colorado will be given a color to indicate the restrictions that apply to that area.
  • The governors of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York modified their tri-state COVID-19 travel quarantine list to add California and Massachusetts. The tri-state list currently includes 41 states and territories.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

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We are pleased to share a recent Law 360 article, “Ill. Venue Ruling Shows Value of Analyzing Remote Work,” with quotes from William Dugan. This article discusses the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling in Tabirta v. Cummings, where the state high court ruled a defendant food manufacturer would have had to target an employee’s home office in Cook County, Illinois as a place to further the defendant’s business activities–as opposed to just allowing the employee to remotely work there–in order to subject the defendant to venue in Cook County.

Click here to view the article.

This article was originally published in Law 360.

 

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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 Governors of Oklahoma, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina extended their emergency declaration orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans.
  • A Wisconsin circuit court reinstated the State’s order that that imposes limitations on public gatherings. Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order that allows movie theaters to re-open at 25% capacity with no more than 50 people per screen.
  • The Governors of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York modified their tri-state COVID-19 travel quarantine list to re-add Arizona and Maryland. The tri-state list currently includes 39 states and territories.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

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In the midst of the global conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion, many companies are looking to collect data from employees — on a voluntary basis — about their demographic characteristics. Listen in to hear practical tips on how to collect and manage diversity data.

Please click below to watch the video chat:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Best Practices for Managing & Collecting Employee Diversity Data

 

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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 governors of Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, South Carolina, Vermont and Wyoming extended their emergency declaration orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans.
  • The governors of Nebraska and Pennsylvania issued new or amended orders the limit the size of certain gatherings, while a county judge in Wisconsin issued a temporary restraining order blocking a recent order in Wisconsin that imposed limitations on public gatherings and set a hearing date of 19 October 2020, to determine whether to issue a permanent injunction. Meanwhile, the governor of Maryland updated the state’s stay-at-home order to allow for attendance at outdoor sporting and entertainment venues, subject to significant capacity restrictions.
  • The governors of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York modified their tri-state COVID-19 travel quarantine list to add Ohio, Michigan and Virginia. The tri-state list currently includes 38 states and territories.
  • Hawaii has now reopened to tourists with a mandatory 14-day quarantine that can be avoided if the traveler produces a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their flight.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

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Special thanks to guest contributors, Melissa Allchin, John Foerster and Sandhya Sharma.

On October 6, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new interim final rules (IFRs) that have left employers reeling in the wake of their effect on foreign national employees on H-1B visas or in the permanent residence process. The DOL IFR took effect on October 8, 2020. The DHS IFR will take effect on December 7, 2020. Both rules will significantly impact employers’ ability to hire and retain foreign national talent. While litigation that could suspend the rules seems imminent, employers are left to navigate the IFRs on the unsteady ground created by COVID-19-related H-1B and PERM compliance challenges.

Click here to continue reading.

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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 Governors of Colorado, Louisiana, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington, as well as the Mayor of Washington, D.C., extended their emergency declaration orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans.
  • Connecticut and Maine moved to the next phase of their respective reopening plans.
  • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an executive order that largely mirrors the orders previously issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, which were struck down by the Michigan Supreme Court earlier this month. The new order remains in effect until October 30, 2020.
  • The Governor of Texas issued a new order that allows bars and similar establishments to open at 50% capacity if the County Judge opts in, and that allows for increased capacity at certain entertainment venues in counties with low hospitalization rates. The Governor of Washington announced updates to the state’s reopening plan that allows for more activities in some of the phases. The Governor of Wisconsin, on the other hand, issued an order that limits the size of indoor gatherings in certain places that are open to the public.
  • The Governor of New York announced a “Cluster Action Initiative,” which targets clusters of high community transmission of COVID-19 for additional restrictions on non-essential gatherings, houses of worship, businesses, dining, and schools.
  • The Governors of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York modified their tri-state COVID-19 travel quarantine list to add New Mexico. The tri-state list currently includes 35 states and territories.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

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On October 7, 2020, the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its initial FAQ regarding President Trump’s Executive Order 13950, Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“Executive Order”). As discussed in our recent blog post, the Executive Order prohibits federal contractors from conducting workplace training during the performance of a government contract that inculcates certain “divisive concepts” in employees, and requires federal contractors to impose the same prohibition on their subcontractors and vendors.

The guidance provides some clarity to the Executive Order, which has been widely described as difficult to understand and implement. We highlight some of the guidance’s key points below.

Continue Reading DOL Issues Guidance on Controversial Executive Order on Combating Race and Sexual Stereotyping