February 2022

On February 19, 2022, the newest statewide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave took effect.

California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has published an FAQ Page to provide guidance regarding COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL).

The new FAQ page covers questions pertaining to the following:

  • Reasons for Taking Leave
  • Start Date and End Date

In this issue of the Class Action Trends Report, Jackson Lewis attorneys look back at class action developments in 2021, including COVID-19 vaccine mandate litigation, significant procedural decisions, wage and hour suits, and the continuing rise of cases brought under the California Private Attorneys General Act and Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, among other litigation

On April 4, 2022, a merits panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on a petition seeking to force OSHA to issue a permanent standard for healthcare occupational exposure to COVID-19 and to reinstate the Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard on Occupational Exposure (Healthcare ETS) to COVID-19 pending the permanent standard.

On February 19, 2022, 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave wentinto effect. The legislation, similar to 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, requires employers with 25 or more employees to provide paid leave for reasons related to COVID-19, including the need to isolate or quarantine or to care for a family member who needs to

The normal difficulties that employers have adhering to the technical requirements of COBRA have been exacerbated during the past two years as COBRA rules were changed to recognize the complications accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic.  This added complexity is particularly worrisome as an employer’s simple oversight in administering COBRA can result in ERISA penalties, an excise

As employers and insurers continue to establish programs to enable participants in group health plans to receive at-home COVID-19 tests at no cost, even without a prescription, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued additional guidance and an updated FAQ providing further clarification and flexibility to insurers and plan sponsors in providing coverage to eligible

The onset and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the shortage of healthcare workers in the United States, especially in rural areas. Periodic spikes in infection levels has sped burn-out among healthcare workers. There are many foreign nationals who can and do fill these healthcare roles including those in Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

 In late January, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he and the legislature had reached an agreement on a framework to revive COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL), which expired in September 2021. However, there was no bill and only speculation on what coverage would look like.

On February 2, 2022, Assembly Bill 84