COBRA Healthcare Insurance Benefits for Unemployment concept

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021. One of the significant COVID-19 relief provisions in the bill includes a 100 percent COBRA premium subsidy so eligible individuals can continue getting health insurance for up to six months. The subsidy is available beginning April 1, 2021, and ends September 30, 2021 (the “Free COBRA Period”). Continue Reading New COVID-19 Relief Package Provides Free COBRA Premiums Starting April 1: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

The White House Washington DC

In one of the latest developments in the Biden administration’s recent initiatives to strengthen environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts in the United States, the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week that it would not enforce a final rule requiring fiduciaries subject to ERISA to evaluate investment opportunities based upon financial performance factors, rather than ESG metrics. The DOL stated that the final rule “created a perception that fiduciaries are at risk if they include any environmental, social and governance factors in the financial evaluation of plan investments.” Continue Reading DOL Will Not Enforce ESG-Related Final Rule

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Two recent federal criminal indictments have captured the attention of both antitrust and employment lawyers, as well as the legal and business community nationwide. The cases – both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas – demonstrate that the U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its focus on so-called wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. This is an important development to be aware of because (1) the Department of Justice treats wage-fixing and no-poach agreements as per se illegal, meaning that they violate the law regardless of whether there is any anti-competitive effect, and (2) companies may be held liable for these agreements even if they are formed between lower-level employees. Continue Reading New Indictments Raise Antitrust Issues in Employment Settings

Glass jar full of Cannabis Sativa

In November 2020, Montana joined Arizona, New Jersey, and South Dakota in legalizing recreational cannabis use. Montana voters approved a pair of ballot initiatives on November 3, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative (“Montana I-190”) and the Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana Amendment (“Montana CI-118”), both of which needed to pass for recreational use to become legal for adults 21 and older. Continue Reading Cannabis Legislation in Key States: Montana Voters Approve Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Use

Remember August 2019? Before COVID? Before masks? Before shutdowns, limited reopenings, resurgences, and renewed shutdowns? Before presidential election drama?

Fifteen months seems like a lifetime ago. And for many of us, at least a few action items that were important at the time have since slipped to the back burner. That doesn’t make us bad people or even procrastinators; we’ve had a few emergent issues to address that have taken priority. But we’re now about five weeks away from a deadline that was instituted for Illinois employers in August 2019, and if you haven’t already done so, now is the time to ensure compliance with the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA).

Continue Reading Last Call: Illinois Employers Must Provide Sexual Harassment Training by Year End

Close up of Hands marking november 3 election day on Calendar as reminder for voting - Concept of reminder for US election.

Election Day 2020 is days away. Early voting records have been shattered, with tens of millions of voters already casting their ballots by mail or in-person early voting. Despite these record early voting numbers, tens of millions more will still vote in person on November 3. Some of those Election Day voters are certain to be your employees. Continue Reading We Have Enough Battlegrounds: Keep Employee Voting Leave Requests Civil by Following State Law

Executive order

Under a new presidential executive order, employers may not provide any employee training that teaches employees “cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex” if the employer is a federal contractor.

Following a September 4, 2020 White House memorandum reprimanding federal agencies for holding “divisive, un-American” instruction on systemic racism, on September 22 Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13950, “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” which prohibits federal agencies from “promot[ing] race or sex stereotyping in the Federal workforce or in the Uniformed Services.” The Order goes much farther than that, however, by providing that federal contractors “will not be permitted to inculcate such views in their employees.” Continue Reading New Executive Order Prohibits “Divisive” Diversity and Inclusion Training for Federal Contractors

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Many companies were caught off-guard in the spring when diagnoses of COVID-19 multiplied rapidly and forced businesses to close or drastically change their policies with little warning. Now companies that have reopened must prepare for the future. As we have seen in recent weeks, resurgences may occur at any time in different parts of the country. And epidemiologists have warned about a potential second wave of infections in the fall. Continue Reading Reopening and Readjusting: Preparing for a Diagnosis or Resurgence in the Coming Months

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In our last post, we discussed policy changes and new procedures that companies should consider as they reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly given the increase in cases in many parts of the country. But companies cannot change policies in a vacuum: they must clearly and effectively communicate these changes to employees, customers, and the public. Clear, written policies will be ineffective if they are not communicated effectively. Continue Reading Reopening and Readjusting: Communicating COVID-19 Policies to All Stakeholders

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Business closures have been immensely difficult for companies of all sizes during the COVID-19 pandemic. But reopening is proving difficult, too, especially given the ever-changing nature of the pandemic. As cases have surged in recent weeks in new parts of the country, businesses have been forced to reassess their operational plans in both the near- and long-term. Owners and executives are paying close attention both to customer and employee safety. And businesses must be mindful of potential legal ramifications of their decisions. Continue Reading Reopening and Readjusting: What Businesses Should Be Thinking About