Listen to this post

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 states extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans: Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and Wyoming.
  • The following states moved back to the prior stage of their reopening plans, recommended residents stay at home and/or closed non-essential businesses: Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Wisconsin. In addition, West Virginia imposed a mask mandate requiring all people to wear a mask in public places.
  • The following states issued new or revised orders or guidance that restrict social gatherings, impose capacity limitations and/or restrict indoor dining at bars and restaurants: California, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, New Jersey, North Dakota and Washington.
  • Connecticut and New Jersey modified their COVID-19 travel quarantine list to add Maine and New Hampshire. The list currently includes 45 states and territories. In addition, California, Oregon and Washington have issued a travel advisory recommending a 14-day quarantine for all persons arriving from other states or countries.
  • Lastly, in a clear move to limit the spread of the virus over the Thanksgiving holiday, California’s revised guidance limits gatherings to two hours or less and prohibits singing and shouting at indoor gatherings, while Michigan’s revised guidance limits indoor residential gatherings to two households at a time and strongly urges families to pick a single other household to interact with over the next three weeks.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

Listen to this post

Parties before the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) often wonder whether it is worthwhile to appeal adverse rulings or respond when favorable rulings are received. Two recent appellate court decisions demonstrate the value of sticking with an argument from start to finish.

A Winning Formula

First, in Davidson Hotel Company v. NLRB (D.C. Cir. 2020), the D.C. Circuit recently took the highly unusual step of rejecting an NLRB determination as to the appropriate unit for bargaining at a small, full-service hotel in Chicago. For context, the NLRB had determined that the Davidson Hotel’s employees should be segregated into three separate bargaining units: a unit of front desk employees, a unit of housekeeping employees, and a unit of food and beverage employees. The union petitioned the Board to certify a single unit of housekeeping employees and food and beverage employees.

The Board’s Regional Director decided that a unit consisting of the housekeeping and the food and beverage employees was not an appropriate unit because it did not include the front desk employees, and he dismissed the union’s petition for an election. The Regional Director reached his decision by applying the NLRB’s “community of interest” test, under which the NLRB examines: (1) whether employees in the proposed unit have sufficient commonality in working conditions and job duties (among other factors) such that bargaining as a collective group is possible; and (2) whether employees in the unit have such distinctive interests from those who are excluded-here, the front desk employees-such that they should bargain separately. In his order dismissing the union’s initial petition for a single bargaining unit of housekeeping and food and beverage employees, the Regional Director decided that the unit did not have distinctive interests from the front desk workers, but he hinted that two separate units (one for housekeeping and another for food and beverage) might be appropriate.

Following his cue, the union promptly filed two petitions seeking one election in the housekeeping unit and a second election in the food and beverage service unit. Again, the union did not seek to represent the front desk employees. This time, the Regional Director found that the community of interest test was satisfied and he certified the two units. When an election was held, the union prevailed in both units.

Continue Reading A Tale of Two Appeals: Recent Appellate NLRB Decisions Show the Value of Sticking with an Argument

Listen to this post

Special thanks to Liliana Hernandez-Salgado and Maria del Rosario Lombera for this update.

On November 12, 2020, the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel López Obrador, sent a draft bill to dramatically change subcontracting (outsourcing) regulations applicable to private companies. If approved by Congress, the bill will significantly impact companies with outsourcing and insourcing (with dual corporate structure) structures.

The draft bill bans the subcontracting of personnel (assignment of personnel in benefit of another party) for activities related to the corporate purpose or economic activity of the beneficiary of the services. Under the proposed legislation, penalties for breaching subcontracting regulations will increase significantly and criminal liability could also arise. If passed, the law would also have significant social security implications and employers who fail to comply with these regulations would not be able to deduct taxes or to credit the value added tax on the service fee.

Employers should closely follow developments on this draft bill and start analyzing their current structures and operations in Mexico. Our Labor & Employment team in Mexico will keep you informed and can assist companies with navigating these substantial changes.

Listen to this post

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve 2020, sweeping amendments to California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA) will take effect. Both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the current version of CFRA entitle eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected family or medical leave during a 12-month period. This statutory leave right provides employees with time off from work for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition, or when the employee cannot work because of a serious health condition.

Effective January 1, 2021, however, not only will the CFRA apply to more employers (covering employers with as few as five instead of the current 50 employees), but CFRA’s expanded definition of “family members” also will authorize certain employees to take a total of 24 weeks of family and medical leave, effectively doubling the currently available 12 weeks of leave available, in each 12-month period.

We highlight the key changes to the CFRA and employer considerations below.

Continue Reading Sweeping Changes to the CFRA Could Entitle Employees to Double the Leave

Listen to this post

Special thanks to Kevin Coon and Sanjay Khanna

Amidst the planetary emergency of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic is testing modern civilization’s preparedness for shocks across spheres of finance, economics and technology; global, national and regional governance; global and population health; social cohesion and food security. While the vast majority of businesses around the world are today in the throes of the immediate impacts of the pandemic, it is important to state that the consequences of this abrupt global change will reverberate beyond the coming decade, much like the repercussions of the 2007-10 financial crisis.

After acute phases of the COVID-19 response are complete, business leaders must ask what they can do to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. How can they position themselves to succeed in a turbulent world for which there are limited strategic advisory, operational, organizational, or social resources to aid effective and comprehensive adaptation?

Download our report for industry insights and the potential implications for legal teams resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to download the publication.

Listen to this post
We are excited to invite you to our virtual Annual California Employer Update on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, from 1:00 – 2:15 PM PT.

“Quick Hits: California’s Top 10 & What You Need To Know In 2021” is designed to ensure that in-house counsel are up to speed on what changed in 2020 and prepared for what’s on the horizon in 2021.

Among other topics, you will hear about:

  • New COVID-specific laws applicable to California employers
  • Important new obligations during layoffs
  • Major changes to leave laws, impacting how California leaves are managed
  • The new Board diversity requirement, and lessons from the gender diversity legislation
  • California’s controversial new pay data reporting requirements.

Click here to view the webinar invitation and register. We look forward to your participation!

Listen to this post

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 Alabama, Delaware, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Tennessee extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans.
  • Connecticut moved back to the previous stage of its reopening plan, while the Governor of Illinois banned indoor dining at bars and restaurants throughout the state of Illinois and the Governor of Oregon paused social activities for two weeks in certain counties in Oregon. In addition, the Governor of Maine strengthened the state’s face covering requirements.
  • The Governors of Connecticut and New Jersey modified their COVID-19 travel quarantine list to add Oregon and Washington. The list currently includes 43 states and territories. This list is no longer considered a tri-state advisory, as New York announced that it will allow visitors to test out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

For more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie attorney.

Listen to this post

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.

Listen to this post

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.