Labor & Employment Law Update

The question many employers have faced in recent weeks is whether or not COVID-19 could be covered by workers compensation. The answer is generally… “UNLIKELY — except those who are directly involved in dealing with the pandemic — i.e. health care workers.” Under workers compensation law 101, an injured or ill employee bears the burden of establishing a causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the injury/illness at issue. This has been the case even for employees contracting infectious diseases such as Hepatitis-B or tuberculosis.  ...

An important question for employers in essential industries is whether its employees should come to work after potential exposure to COVID-19.  The previous guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommended employees stay home for 14 days after exposure.  However, late on April 8, 2020 the CDC issued new guidelines — abandoning the former restrictions — for employers of critical infrastructure workers in essential sectors such as health care, manufacturing, food and agriculture, information technology, and transportation.  The CDC ...

Due to COVID-19, everyone has been adjusting to daily life from home, including the youngest family members. Education is coming in the form of rapidly-developing technology that provides cybernetic classes and hangouts and the submission of coursework or “attendance” virtually. More businesses now have employees working remotely, using technology to stay in touch with co-workers and conduct meetings. However, this interfacing by schools, dance/music classes and management or team meetings may come with legal risk. The requirements of privacy laws, take, even the ...

Recent legislation providing COVID-19 relief to individuals and businesses includes provisions allowing more flexibility under retirement plans for individuals impacted by COVID-19. The CARES Act permits special hardship distributions of up to $100,000 from most tax-qualified retirement plans without early-withdrawal penalty taxes, increases the maximum 401(k) loan available for participants impacted by the pandemic and allows a delay in existing loan repayments. Required minimum distributions from defined contribution plans are waived for 2020.

As we now know, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires covered employers to provide employees with paid sick leave — under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) — for specified reasons related to COVID-19 starting April 1. These reasons include: because the employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.

Many states and local governments have now mandated shelter-in-place (SIP) or stay-at-home orders.

The question facing many employers is whether these SIP orders trigger the paid leave ...

This blog has previously reported on Governor Parson’s resistance to issue a state-wide “Stay At Home” Order in Missouri in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  He had previously issued a “Social Distancing” Order, effective through April 6, 2020, with individual counties and municipalities left to issue their own Stay At Home Orders to fill the void.

Now that has changed. 

On Friday evening, the Governor announced that the State’s Department of Health & Human Services had issued a state-wide Order mandating that all Missourians “shall avoid leaving their homes or ...

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has posted its temporary regulations regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  The DOL is scheduled to post its published version on April 6, 2020.  The new regulations include parts 826.10 – 826.160 of the federal code and set forth the compliance requirements for employers with less than 500 employees for both the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFMLEA).

Additionally, the DOL continues to update its FFCRA FAQ’s and FAQ’s regarding posting requirements. At the time ...

The Department of Labor has issued Temporary Regulations on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to address an issue already causing employers fits – namely, can employees use paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) intermittently?  

According to the DOL: it depends. 

The employer and employee must agree to intermittent leave.

First and foremost, the regulations are clear that “one basic condition” applies to all employees who ...

On March 31, 2020, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launched the Employee Retention Credit, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19.

How to determine if your business qualifies for the Employee Retention Credit:

The credit is available to all employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations. There are only two exceptions: state and local governments and their ...

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and the patchwork state-law equivalents are often overlooked when employers are considering their options regarding potential layoffs or furloughs – either permanent or temporary. Employers should be cautioned that not abiding by the requirements of the WARN Act could lead to problems down the road.

The WARN Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to give an advance 60-day written notice to its displaced workers, certain third parties, and government bodies notice for a plant closing or mass ...