Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

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Latest from Employment Law Watch

Employment Law Watch

New CDC close contact definition announced for contact tracing and worker exclusion

By Michael Correll & Joseph J. Mammone Jr.

October 30, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its definition for close contact in its COVID-19 guidelines. As a result, employers should immediately reevaluate both their social distancing protocols and their contact tracing protocols to ensure full compliance with CDC standards. The updated definition clarifies that it is contact within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. Further, close contact is…

Employment Law Watch

New Jersey implements additional safeguards for workers in response to rising COVID-19 cases

By John T. McDonald & Saranne Weimer

October 28, 2020

On October 28, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 192, which will require a series of workplace protections for workers beginning on November 5, 2020. Importantly, nothing in Executive Order 192 repeals, supersedes, or modifies the requirement of Executive Order 107 that requires businesses to “accommodate their workforce, wherever practical, for telework or work-from home arrangements.” Employers with in-person staffing are also expected to keep staffing to the “minimum number necessary” and to abide…

Employment Law Watch

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County vote to ban discrimination against race-based hairstyles

By James A. Holt & Mariah McGrogan

October 26, 2020

Last week, the Pittsburgh City Council and the Allegheny County Council unanimously voted to ban discrimination on the basis of race-based hairstyles by passing the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (known as the CROWN Act). The CROWN Acts amend provisions of the City and County Codes addressing employment, housing, real estate, and public accommodation discrimination. Provisions of the County law would also impact public schools, but not private institutions. Mayor…

Employment Law Watch

New York City passes key amendments to paid safe and sick leave law

By Mark S. Goldstein & Leora Grushka

October 19, 2020

New York City first adopted a local paid sick leave law in 2014. Over the ensuing six years, the City legislature amended the law several times, including in 2018 to add “safe leave” as a form of paid time off. Late last month, the City amended the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) yet again – this time to align the Big Apple’s local law with the recently-enacted statewide Paid Safe and Sick Leave …

Employment Law Watch

Executive Order 13950 on diversity training: Hidden traps for employers

By Michael Correll & Adam Weiner

October 16, 2020

Beginning November 20, 2020, President Trump’s Executive Order 13950 On Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO 13950” or “The Order”) will fundamentally reshape the way government contractors conduct diversity training. Signed September 22, 2020, the Order prohibits federal workplace trainings that “promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating.” Importantly for private employers, federal contractors also “will not be permitted to inculcate such views in their employees.” On October 7, 2020, the Department of Labor issued…

Employment Law Watch

California expands Family Care and Medical Leave eligibility

By Michele Haydel Gehrke, Jennifer Terry & Corrie Buck

September 25, 2020

On September 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1383 (SB-1383), which significantly expands employee eligibility for family and medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2021, reduces the number of employees required for an employer to be covered under the CFRA and also expands the reasons why employees may take these leaves. Currently, private employers with 50 or more employees working in…

Employment Law Watch

U.S. Department of Labor proposes new “reality” for classifying independent contractors

By Mark S. Goldstein & Leora Grushka

September 24, 2020

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule that would create a uniform approach to the way companies classify workers as independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The notion of classifying workers as independent contractors versus employees has continued to gain importance in recent years, given the growing gig economy, which makes independent contractors central to the business models of many major companies. The DOL’s newly…

Employment Law Watch

DOL issues new final rule and updated guidance for employers who use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime

By Michael Correll & Michael Lombardino

September 23, 2020

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule explaining that bonuses and other incentive payments—paid in addition to an employee’s weekly salary—are compatible with the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of calculating overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule went into effect on August 7, 2020. On August 31, 2020, the DOL issued an opinion letter confirming that an employee’s work hours do not have to…

Employment Law Watch

DOL doubles-down on FFCRA rules (but amends others) in response to federal court decision

By Mark S. Goldstein, Michael Correll & Amy Harwath

September 22, 2020

On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new administrative rule concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal law that provides two forms of COVID-19-related paid time off to employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The rule comes just over a month after a New York federal court rejected substantial portions of the agency’s prior FFCRA guidance in State of New York v. U.S. Department of…

Employment Law Watch

California requires new COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave

By Michele Haydel Gehrke, Mark Phillips, Marianne Rittenburg & Ronnie Shou

September 15, 2020

On September 9, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1867 into law, adding section 248.1 to the Labor Code. Under this new section, “hiring entities” are required to provide supplemental COVID-19 paid sick leave (CPSL) to “covered workers.” This is in addition to any paid sick leave that may be available to the covered workers under California’s Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (HWHFA)[1]. “Hiring entities” include private businesses with 500…

Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

Blog Authors

New CDC close contact definition announced for contact tracing and worker exclusion

New Jersey implements additional safeguards for workers in response to rising COVID-19 cases

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County vote to ban discrimination against race-based hairstyles

New York City passes key amendments to paid safe and sick leave law

Executive Order 13950 on diversity training: Hidden traps for employers

California expands Family Care and Medical Leave eligibility

U.S. Department of Labor proposes new “reality” for classifying independent contractors

DOL issues new final rule and updated guidance for employers who use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime

DOL doubles-down on FFCRA rules (but amends others) in response to federal court decision

California requires new COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave

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