With the resurgence of COVID-19 infections across the United States, employers are facing growing pressure to ascertain whether their employees have contracted the virus. Temperature checks and symptoms screening, while helpful, will not identify employees who are asymptomatic and potentially contagious. This gap is critical because studies show that up to
Articles Discussing Workplace Issues Related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
GOP Stimulus Bill Would Give Some PPP Borrowers a Second Draw and Expand Forgivable Expenditures
Senate Republicans have introduced the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, a nearly one-trillion-dollar stimulus package comprised of a package of bills that includes the Continuing Small Business Recovery and Paycheck Protection Program Act (HEALS PPP).
Will the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act Make it into the Next Stimulus Package?
Despite several attempts, Congress has struggled to push forward a federal consumer privacy law over the past few years. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raised concerns regarding location monitoring, GPS tracking and use of health data, has heightened the urgency for federal consumer privacy legislation. In May, a group
The Pros and Cons of Federal COVID-19 Liability Protections
Congress is currently battling over another coronavirus relief package and one of the main areas of contention is COVID-19 liability protections for businesses.
Senate Republicans Propose Bill to Shield Employers From COVID-19 Related Lawsuits
By: Senate Republicans Propose Bill to Shield Employers From COVID-19 Related Lawsuits
This week, Senate Republicans introduced a bill (S-4317) that would provide employers with protections from certain types of COVID-19 lawsuits that are already being filed and are expected to increase in the coming months. Importantly, this would be a
Senate Republicans Unveil Latest COVID-19 Response Legislation
On July 27, 2020, Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate unveiled its latest legislative response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. The bill represents the most recent effort to target relief to workers, employers, and others as the COVID-19 pandemic continues
Labor Department Answers More Questions About the FLSA During the COVID-19 Pandemic
July 28, 2020
The United States Department of Labor has issued six new Questions and Answers related to interpretation and enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FLSA is the federal statute which establishes the federal minimum wage and which also determines which employees must be paid overtime compensation for working more than 40 hours per week (non-exempt employees) and which employees are exempt from that requirement (“exempt employees”). Click here for the DOL FAQs. The new questions and answers begin at Question No. 14. Here is a brief summary:
Executive Order Creates Rebuttable Presumption for COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims in Connecticut
On July 24, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order 7JJJ, which creates a rebuttable presumption that a COVID-19 diagnosis arises out of and in the course of employment for workers in certain circumstances. As in other states that have created similar rebuttable presumptions, either by executive order or statute, the
OSHA Publishes, Then Withdraws, A Broad Position on Reporting COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Fatalities
OSHA quietly updated its COVID-19 FAQs in mid-July to add guidance that took an extremely broad (and arguably unenforceable) interpretation of an employer’s responsibility to report COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities. Just as quietly, over the last weekend in July, it removed the updated Reporting FAQs. Now employers are left to
Mine Safety and Health Administration tells Federal Court that it is Issuing Citations for COVID-19 Health and Safety Violations
Co-Authored by Brian Lundgren
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the battle over when or if employers should be liable for personal injuries arising from coronavirus exposure allegedly caused during employment lurks on the horizon.
The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently rejected a union’s request for
CDC Updates Guidance for Ending Home Isolation
Recently (on July 20, 2020), the CDC updated its guidance on returning from home isolation, shortening the required time that an individual who has tested positive for or is suspected of having COVID-19 must be fever free from 72 hours […]
CDC Revises Guidance for Discontinuing Home Isolation
On July 17, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its Discontinuation of Isolation for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings interim guidance. This is the guidance upon which employers rely in determining when employees are safe to return to work after being sick with
No Rest for the Weary—Government Contractors’ EEO-1 Deadline Delayed Due to COVID-19, but VETS-4212 Filings Still on Schedule
While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) postponed the 2019 EEO-1 filing deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), which is in charge of the VETS-4212 filings, has taken no such action—which means that government contractors may want to begin preparing promptly for
COVID-19 Detection Dogs in the Workplace: A Viable Option for Employers?
As employees return to work, some employers are asking if there could be another tool to detect COVID-19 in the workplace: detection dogs. Traditionally, the military has used detection dogs to find bombs, and law enforcement has used them to sniff out narcotics, guns, electronics, or other contraband. More recently,
COVID-19 Whistleblowers Have New Rights in Philadelphia
Philadelphia recently enacted a new city ordinance protecting whistleblowers who report unsafe workplace conditions related to COVID-19.