News, Insights, and Strategies for Employers from Jackson Lewis
California passed an expanded COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave statute (SPSL) in March, that included coverage for employees to get vaccinated. More recently, the County of Los Angeles passed an urgency ordinance on May 18th that mandates additional paid leave for some employees in unincorporated areas of the county to be vaccinated.
Covered Employers…
What is an employer’s risk in terminating an employee who has suffered an injury or becomes disabled and no longer can perform the essential functions of the position? How can that risk be lowered?
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed this issue in Conners v. Wilkie, a lawsuit brought by a licensed…
On May 20th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board was set to vote on revisions to COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”).
The evening before the vote the Deputy Chief for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Division”) submitted a request that the Standards Board not to vote on proposed revisions and instead allow the…
As COVID-19-related litigation increases, courts are being called upon to interpret the scope of employers’ duties to protect their employees with relation to the virus. Last week, a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a spouse attempting to hold her husband’s employer liable for her COVID-19 infection. The judge held that California’s worker’s…
In much-anticipated guidance, the Internal Revenue Service has offered its insight on the implementation of the COBRA temporary premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in Notice 2021-31.
Spanning more than 40 pages, the IRS-answered frequently asked questions (FAQs) finally resolve many issues relating to temporary premium assistance for…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or social distance in many settings raises questions for businesses in retail, hospitality and other settings open to the public. Last week, we discussed considerations for businesses considering relaxing their mask and social distancing policies…
On May 13th, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals. The new guidance identified circumstances in which fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear face coverings, including indoors. However, fully vaccinated individuals must still comply with federal, state, local, or workplace guidance for face coverings. Earlier in…
As the COVID-19 vaccine has become readily available, and many employers contemplate employees returning to the office to work, both employers and employees have accelerated demands for new and permanent remote work location arrangements for a variety of jobs. Employers across the country are revisiting their business strategies, employment policies, and related legal and tax…
On May 20th, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board will consider changes to COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”).
The proposed changes would still require employers to have an established written COVID-19 Prevention Program (“CPP”) that covers everything from training and communication with employees to the investigation of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.
However, there are…
As the federal government and state of California adjusted their COVID-19 guidance for vaccinated individuals, Cal OSHA remained silent on how vaccination affected the requirements under its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). While there had been discussions of revisions to the ETS, it was unclear if Cal OSHA would be able to release such…
