In a decision prompted by the ongoing Starbucks unionization battles, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) yesterday issued a decision in which it modified one of the six factors relating Regional Director discretion in allowing a union representation mail ballot versus an in-person manual ballot election, due to COVID-19 related conditions. Under the terms of…
Read More »Earlier this month, the state of Connecticut launched the application process for its new Hero Pay program for essential workers. The program, funded with a $30 million appropriation in the state budget, may provide up to $1,000 in a pandemic pay premium for eligible, private-sector essential workers. To qualify, employees must be deemed essential workers…
Read More »Just at the end of last month, on April 29, 2022, Governor Tim Watz signed into law SB 2677, which replenished the unemployment trust fund, and among other things, created the Frontline Workers Payment Program. The program, which became effective immediately upon the governor’s signature, provides for payments to eligible employees in a very broadly…
Read More »The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) early this week issued a new guidance on employers responsibilities and obligations regarding employees who may be caregivers for children, elderly or other vulnerable individuals relative to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that it may have had on them and their ability to work. The agency reiterated that…
Read More »With Russia invading Ukraine, gas prices soaring to record levels and inflation reaching heights not seen since the 1970s, the COVID coronavirus pandemic – with its infection and hospitalization rates dropping dramatically – is slowly but certainly being pushed into history. The vast majority of states have now lifted their mask mandates that in some…
Read More »As we advised you last week, the state of New York is just one of several state and local governments that have recently dropped masking mandates as COVID infections from the omicron variant decline across the country. At the same time however, New York has extended the application of the so-called HEROES Act for another…
Read More »Notwithstanding increased vaccination rates and greatly reduced COVID infections, California continues to swim upstream as relates helping businesses recover from pandemic restrictions and survive the challenging economy. Early this week, the California legislature caved in to union leader demands and passed legislation mandating that businesses with 26 or more employees provide workers with up to…
Read More »Notwithstanding the fanfare with which DOL announced the ETS and its subsequent withdrawal (as detailed above), there was very little notice made about a new joint guidance issued by DOL along with the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury requiring employer health plans – whether fully insured or self-insured – to cover…
Read More »New York Governor Kathy Hochul has again extended the designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease” and thereby kept the provisions of the Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) in full force and effect. The designation, now extended to February 15, triggers obligations for New York employers to keep their airborne infectious…
Read More »The Department of Justice along with Health and Human Services have issued an updated guidance relating questions of applicability of COVID-19 under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidance defines “long-COVID” which includes issues resulting from COVID exposure that last four or more weeks. In the wake of that guidance, the Equal Employment Opportunity…
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