Speaking of sexual harassment, the Minnesota Supreme Court early this month upheld the standard of “severe and pervasive” as applies to a threshold determination of sexual harassment claims, but it also whittled away some of the standard’s foundation. The court pronounced the Minnesota Human Rights Act more expansive and protective than federal Title VII protections…
Read More »Early this week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a decision extending anti-discrimination protections in the workplace to gay and trans-gender employees. In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the court confirmed that federal law protecting employees from harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex extends to include both…
Read More »As we’ve advised in past issues, the turn of the calendar often ushers in new changes in state and local laws that we all must be aware of, but that is especially true when we flip from June to July. Last week we advised of a number of changes coming July 1 in state and…
Read More »A three judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia yesterday threw out a lawsuit brought by the AFL-CIO seeking to mandate that employers be required to protect employees from the COVID-19 pandemic. The labor federation had filed legal action last month trying to force the Occupational Safety and…
Read More »One provision of the aforementioned CARES Act that struck me as counterintuitive to expediting the economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was the payment of an additional $600 weekly to the unemployed. Although the additional funds are not authorized beyond July 31, 2020, some in the House of Representatives want to extend…
Read More »Two weeks ago, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final ruling reversing the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the case of Colt Beverage where the ALJ found that a company prohibition on the use or possession of a personal cell phone in the work area violated the employee’s rights under…
Read More »A legal challenge against insurance providers for denying losses claimed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic welcomed another voice last week. In-N-Out Burger, the privately-held California-based burger company filed suit against Zurich American Insurance, with which the chain has a $250 million “all risk” policy. The company argues their coverage policy “contains no exclusion…
Read More »Last week, we reported separately on an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance as well as one from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) relating safety inspections/reports and reopening guidance respectively. In our rush to get the most timely information out to our readers, we didn’t connect the two issues as clearly as we…
Read More »New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio this week signed a small business relief package that the New York City Council approved just last week. The package, which consists of seven different bills, includes legislation that imposes limits on third-party delivery services, extends the suspension of sidewalk café fee collection and protects commercial tenants from…
Read More »Last Friday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application form along with instructions for completing it and applying for loan forgiveness. The application consists of four parts: the PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculator, the PPP Schedule A, the PPP Schedule A Worksheet and the Borrower Demographic Information Form. The documents…
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