News, Insights, and Strategies for Employers from Jackson Lewis
IRS Notice 2020-46 addresses the tax treatment of employees who elect to have their employers donate sick, vacation or personal leave as cash payments to charitable organizations that provide relief to victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Notice provides that the donated leave should be not be treated as W-2 wages to the donating employees. …
Additional restrictions on entry into the U.S. may be expected soon. Initial indications are that the Administration is considering barring H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 status among other non-immigrant visa categories.
On April 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the…
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has issued a new Proclamation that extends until 11:59 p.m. on August 1, 2020, the job protections in place for “high-risk” Washington employees. The job protections were to expire at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2020, under the previous Proclamation.
High-risk employees are (1) any individual 65 years or older,…
Journalists and airlines are the two latest groups affected by the deterioration in the relationship between China and the United States.
Since the “tariff wars” and the onset of COVID-19, the relationship between China and the United States has become ever more complicated.
In early May, the Trump Administration changed the I visa rules for…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country, doctors, dentists, therapists and other healthcare providers have turned to telehealth use with their patients by way of videoconferencing applications such as Zoom, Skype and WebEx. The Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Health and Human Services (“OCR”) defines telehealth as “the use…
The Trump Administration has talked about reforming the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for years. It first appeared on the 2017 DHS Regulatory Agenda as a proposed new rule. The stated purpose of the rule was to increase protections for U.S. workers through additional oversight and to reduce fraud and abuse of immigration…
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, fully remote depositions have become necessary and employment lawyers are quickly adjusting. Below are some areas to consider when taking a remote deposition.
Technology
Court reporting services use various audio-video technologies, including Zoom, Cisco Webex, and other platforms, to connect participants in a remote deposition. Being comfortable on…
In what may be the beginning of a wave of post-COVID-19 lawsuits, a former Assistant Director of Nursing filed a whistleblower complaint against her employer, a long-term care facility. The lawsuit claims termination for raising concerns about alleged health and safety issues relating to, inter alia, staffing levels and the use of effective personal protective…
The Internal Revenue Service has relaxed spousal notarization and plan representative witness requirements in 2020 for retirement plan elections in IRS Notice 2020-42. The notice addresses the physical presence requirement for notarization or witnessing of certain plan elections and provides temporary relief permitting remote notarization and witnessing subject to certain requirements.
For the period…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued guidance for construction industry employers to prevent spread of COVID-19.
In addition to measures the agency suggests for all employers, the guidance includes a variety of preventive measures at construction sites, such as:
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