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On March 24 and 25, the U.S. Department of Labor released guidance on the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which we wrote about here when it passed last week.

Among other things, the FFCRA requires covered employers to provide paid sick leave and expanded partially paid family and medical leave to certain employees affected by the coronavirus. The FFCRA’s provisions are summarized in the table below and go into effect on April 1, 2020.

The guidance provides further detail concerning various aspects of the new law, including employers’ notice posting obligations and calculations of: (1) number of employees for purposes of determining covered employer status, and (2) employee rates of pay and hours worked for purposes of calculating leave obligations.…
Continue Reading Department of Labor Issues Clarifying Guidance for Employers Concerning the Families First Act’s Employee Leave Requirements

On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed A10153, a bill designed to provide paid sick leave and wage replacement for workers who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. While the bill provides public assistance for employees affected by the pandemic, it requires certain employers to provide additional paid sick leave to employees impacted by COVID-19. The new law’s provisions took effect immediately once Governor Cuomo signed it on Wednesday.
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Continue Reading New York Law Now Requires Employers to Provide Additional Paid Sick Leave to Employees Affected by Coronavirus

As an update to our post on Monday, yesterday the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, which the U.S. House of Representatives had passed in a bipartisan vote on March 14 (with further changes made by the House by unanimous consent on March 16). President Trump signed the bill shortly after it cleared Congress.  Now that the legislation has been signed into law, its provisions become effective within 15 days.…
Continue Reading Senate Passes Families First Coronavirus Response Act: What Employers Need to Know

Congress is moving quickly to provide relief to employees who are impacted by COVID-19, and the legislation will also have a big impact on most employers. The House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, in a bipartisan vote on Saturday, and the Senate will consider the bill this week. President Trump has expressed his approval of the emergency legislation and is expected to sign it if and when it clears Congress.…
Continue Reading Coronavirus Pandemic: House Passes Legislation to Provide Paid Leave for Many Employees

The spread of the coronavirus COVID-19—recently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization—has created a myriad of practical and legal issues for employers seeking to prioritize employee health and wellness while continuing to meet business and customer needs.  The situation remains extremely fluid, with new developments and issues emerging by the minute.
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Continue Reading Coronavirus Pandemic: Top Questions and Answers for Employers

Book with title New rules and regulations in an office.

Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its much anticipated final rule on the joint-employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Resolving a dispute at the agency that persisted for over four years, the final rule is welcome news for many employers – particularly franchisors and businesses that regularly engage supplemental or contingent workers from third-party agencies – who are less likely to be considered joint employers under the final rule.…
Continue Reading NLRB Joint-Employer Final Rule: Good News for Employers

The new decade brings Schiff Hardin’s Labor & Employment Group’s annual legislative update, summarizing new legislation in 2020 under federal law and in Illinois, California, New York, Michigan, and the District of Columbia.
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Continue Reading 2020 Labor and Employment Legislative Developments

Working overtime

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final version of its anticipated overtime exemption rule, setting a new annual salary threshold for “white collar” exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at just over $35,000 per year.  In the DOL’s press release accompanying the final rule, the agency anticipated its action will “make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay.”  The new rule will take effect on January 1, 2020.[1]…
Continue Reading Increase in FLSA Overtime Exemption Threshold Expected to Make More than One Million Employees Newly Eligible for Overtime Pay

Book with title California law and a gavel.

On September 11, 2019, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5), which – if signed into law – will codify the so-called “ABC Test” utilized by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex v. Superior Court of Los Angeles to hold that the company’s delivery drivers were employees, not independent contractors, for the purpose of applying California Department of Industrial Relations Wage Orders. The bill, which California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign, will have major implications on so-called “gig economy” workers, potentially leading to many being reclassified as employees rather than independent contractors.…
Continue Reading Pending Major Worker Reclassification Law Aims to Burst California’s “Gig Economy” Bubble

Paper with weekly time sheet on a table.

On July 24, 2019, the Chicago City Council voted to pass the Fair Workweek Ordinance that will require covered employers to, among other things, provide employees with at least 10 days’ advance notice of their work schedules and provide additional compensation to employees for any unscheduled changes to their scheduled work hours. Mayor Lori Lightfoot publically supported and is expected to sign the ordinance, which will go into effect on July 1, 2020.…
Continue Reading Chicago Fair Workweek Law Set to Impose Sweeping Predictable Workweek Requirements