Workforce Bulletin

Insights on Labor and Employment Law

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Kathleen A. Barrett

Christopher A. McMican

Anastasia A. Regne

Peter A. Steinmeyer

Sheila A. Woolson

Maxine Adams

Epstein Becker and Green P.C.

Anthony Argiropoulos

Latest from Workforce Bulletin

Workforce Bulletin

The Race to Embrace Remote Online Notarization (“RON”) in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Theodora McCormick

March 31, 2020

Sometimes a crisis can be an opportunity to embrace new technologies and changes that were already on the horizon – albeit at a much more expedited pace. As employees are required to work remotely and practice social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government and several state governments (including New York and New Jersey) are moving (New York more quickly than New Jersey) to enable remote online notarization and keep businesses operating. A…

Workforce Bulletin

You Are Excused: Force Majeure and the Workplace in the COVID-19 Era

By Peter A. Steinmeyer & Amy Bharj

March 31, 2020

In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has changed the workplace. Travel restrictions, shelter-in-place orders, and mandatory closures have meant that it is far from business as usual for nearly all employers. The unprecedented events of the last few weeks have forced many employers, facing major business disruptions or closures, to make tough decisions about hiring, layoffs, furloughs, and compensation. Some of these employment decisions may implicate written employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements that contain…

Workforce Bulletin

New York State Releases FAQs Regarding New COVID-19 Leave Law

By Susan Gross Sholinsky, Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper & Corben J. Green

March 30, 2020

New York State has issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) regarding the State’s new COVID-19 Leave Law (the “Law”). As we have reported, the Law requires New York employers to provide certain employees who are under a COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation order with either paid or unpaid sick leave, depending on the employer’s size and net income. The FAQs provide answers to more than 30 questions regarding the Law’s mandates…

Workforce Bulletin

Cash Shortfalls: How to Mitigate the Effects of Coronavirus on Your Organization’s Financial Health

By Epstein Becker and Green P.C.

March 30, 2020

A post on the Health Law Advisor blog will be of interest to many of our readers: “Coronavirus and Cash Shortfalls – What Can You Do to Mitigate the Effects of Coronavirus on Your Organization’s Financial Health?,” by attorney David E. Weiss of Epstein Becker Green. Following is an excerpt: The coronavirus is having a direct effect – financial and otherwise – on nearly every business. While the long-term effects of the global pandemic will…

Workforce Bulletin

Major Cities in Texas Enter “Stay at Home” Orders: Implications and Other Considerations for Employers

By Greta Ravitsky & Anastasia A. Regne

March 30, 2020

On March 13, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott declared a State of Disaster in Texas due to COVID-19. Subsequently, on March 19. 2020, Governor Abbott issued a Public Health Disaster Declaration, and an Executive Order, which, among other things, prohibited congregating in groups consisting of more than ten people, and closed all Texas restaurant dining rooms [1] bars, gyms and schools, effective March 20, 2020. Governor Abbott has refrained from issuing a statewide shelter-in-place…

Workforce Bulletin

New Jersey Extends Benefits and Protections to Workers Impacted by COVID-19

By John M. O'Connor

March 27, 2020

On March 25, 2020, by signing legislative bill S2304 into law, Governor Philip Murphy expanded the availability of benefits under the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (“TDI”) and Family Leave Insurance (“FLI”) programs to employees impacted by epidemic-related illnesses such as COVID-19. The new law (“Law”) provides numerous key changes to the existing statutory scheme for state-issued disability insurance benefits, family leave insurance benefits, and use of accrued paid sick time. Expanded Permissible Uses for Earned…

Workforce Bulletin

Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-19: Employer Payroll Tax Relief in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

By Michelle Capezza, Paul DeCamp, Tony Huber, Christopher Lech & Rina Fujii

March 26, 2020

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), which we detailed in a previous Advisory, requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees (“covered employers”) to provide paid sick leave (“Emergency Paid Sick Leave”) and family leave (“Public Health Emergency Leave”) for certain COVID-19 related absences and includes a tax credit for employers for the cost of the paid leave. As covered employers prepare to meet these requirements, questions have arisen related to the…

Workforce Bulletin

Temporary Benefit Strategies to Immediately Help Workers: Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-19

By Gretchen Harders, Sharon L. Lippett & Rina Fujii

March 26, 2020

The closure orders issued by federal and state government authorities across the United States have resulted in the reduction and loss of income for a significant percentage of the U.S. workforce. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Report Act (the “Coronavirus Act”), effective April 2, 2020, providing relief for certain eligible families, employers and businesses. Further legislation is on the horizon. Meanwhile, under existing law, the Internal Revenue…

Workforce Bulletin

In Advance of April 1 Effective Date, DOL Issues Guidance on Families First Coronavirus Response Act

By Garen E. Dodge, Nathaniel M. Glasser & Adriana S. Kosovych

March 26, 2020

On March 24, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued initial guidance (“Guidance”) on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”), which we detailed in a previous Advisory. In short, the Act requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees (“covered employers”) to provide paid sick and family leave for certain COVID-19 related absences and includes a tax credit for employers for the…

Workforce Bulletin

May Employees Take Hardship Distributions Under Their 401(k) Plan? Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-19

By Sharon L. Lippett, Rina Fujii & Gretchen Harders

March 26, 2020

As temporary layoffs and furloughs become more prevalent during the COVID-19 outbreak, employers have been asking whether they may allow employees to take hardship distributions under their Section 401(k) plans for expenses and losses resulting from COVID-19. Under the IRS hardship distribution final regulations, employers were permitted to add a new safe harbor hardship category that would allow an employee to take a hardship withdrawal to cover expenses and losses (including loss of income)…