Trump-era independent contractor rule withdrawn Effective today, May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Trump-era independent contractor rule has been officially withdrawn.  The Trump-era independent contractor rule, which never went into effect due to the change between presidential administrations, would have made it easier for companies to classify workers as independent contractors. Trump-era independent contractor rule The Trump-era independent contractor rule expressly adopted and clarified the “economic realities test” for worker classification, and…

On April 29, 2021, the Ontario government enacted Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021 (Act). The legislation amends the Employment Standards Act (ESA) to require employers to provide employees covered by the ESA with up to three paid days of sick leave for certain reasons relating to COVID-19. In this update, we review the scope of the new pay entitlement and corresponding obligations for employers. What if employees were already entitled to paid…

Federal OSHA has recently released guidance advising on employer health and safety obligations when employers require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. Specifically, OSHA addresses the potential (albeit rare to date) of an employee who incurs an adverse reaction to a mandated vaccination. In such a situation, the reaction will be deemed “work-related.” The ultimate effect of this guidance is that if the adverse reaction involves days away from work,…

What has happened so far? Last month the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Act 2021, also known as the Omnibus Legislation, came into effect.  This reformed the legal definition of a casual employee and introduced a statutory definition of a “casual employee” for the first time in Australia. For a long time, the accepted thinking was that a casual employee was one who was engaged as such and paid a casual…