The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued a new guidance document yesterday aimed at employers of essential workers—a COVID-19 vaccine communication toolbox. Who is an “essential” worker? Essential workers do the important work. They maintain the country’s daily needed services and functions. Examples include police officers, firefighters, and people working in education, child care centers, and grocery stores. Why does this sector need a toolkit? The stated purpose of this guidance is to…

On January 20, 2021, in one of his first acts as the 46th President of the United States, President Biden revoked an executive order (EO) barring government contractors, including subcontractors and grantees of federal funds, from certain types of racial sensitivity training in the workplace. Indeed, the link to the former training ban no longer works. A Focus On Equity Under the prior EO, government contractors could not provide or use any workplace training “that…

Yesterday, January 15, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved revisions to EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination (“Manual”). I’ve fielded some questions lately about the EEOC, so I wanted to clarify for employers what the EEOC does and does not do: The EEOC is not a court. The EEOC does not make law. The EEOC does issue guidance. The EEOC is a federal agency that enforces the federal anti-discrimination and…

Independent contractor or employee? That has long been the question under various federal and state laws. Why such a buzz about this issue? Well, properly classifying workers is critical for many reasons, not least of which is that only employees fall under the protection of certain federal laws and entitlements. And for employers, misclassification can get employers into a whole lot of trouble. (Think: high financial penalties, which I spell out for you below.) Independent…

Yesterday, my esteemed law partner Eric Meyer got together for lunch with about 200 of you, including my Dad, to talk about some employment law things on our mind. Neither of us get out much, clearly. Guest-starring on Eric’s YouTube blog was certainly the highlight of my week! But ICYMI, we started off with the two new Field Assistance Bulletins, published under the wire by the U.S. Department of Labor and what they mean for…

Join my FisherBroyles‘ partner Eric Meyer and me at noon eastern on Zoom today for a little lunchtime happy hour. There’s still time to register here. We’ll talk about these two new U.S. Department of Labor Field Assistance Bulletins released yesterday supporting remote workplace flexibilities. One addresses electronic posting of workplace notices (FLSA and FMLA), and the other one confirms whether telemedicine counts as “treatment” under the FMLA. Hey, speaking of remote…

As employers know, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. This year, employers have worked hard to figure out how to calculate employee pay under the FFCRA and, in some cases, whether or not they are exempt from FFCRA requirements. The FFCRA expires on December 31, 2020. But, as my partner Eric …