On September 30, 2020, section 196-b of the New York State Labor Law went into effect.  The legislation, which provides for the immediate accrual of employer-provided sick leave, permits sick leave to be taken beginning on January 1, 2021.  We wrote about the New York State Paid Sick Leave law previously, and have outlined the situations under which it must be provided to employees.  Like New York City’s paid sick leave entitlements, the law applies…

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) became law on March 18, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As we previously blogged on several (okay, numerous) occasions, the FFCRA comprises the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLA”), which provide paid leave in connection with certain COVID-19 related absences from work. Rather than go into each of those circumstances, you can click on any of…

We have seen a significant number of OSHA investigations in recent weeks in response to reports of employee deaths and illnesses due to COVID-19.  In the height of the pandemic, employers, including nursing homes, were unclear regarding their obligations to report employee incidents of COVID-19 to OSHA due to the difficulty in determining whether such cases were “work-related.”  Below we have outlined OSHA’s reporting requirements and expectations regarding investigations into whether COVID cases are work-related,…

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues throughout the world, many workplaces have gone virtual. While the advent of technology makes a remote workforce possible, the newly remote workforce brings with it additional challenges to a company’s information technology (“IT”) systems. However, proper policies and procedures that govern the security of IT systems and employees’ use of such systems can go a long way to help protect an organization.…

The wait is over.  Since the announcement that certain Connecticut businesses would be permitted to reopen beginning May 20, 2020, most have waited with bated breath to understand what that process would and should look like.  Yesterday, Governor Lamont released specific guidance for businesses covered by Phase 1 of Connecticut’s reopening plan, which businesses must consider in formulating their own plans.  While the wait for the plan is over, the journey back has just begun.…