After a year of New York taxpayers having to deal with COVID-19 and getting some additional time to file, income tax returns for the year 2020 (not on extension) are being reviewed. Upon reviewing tax returns, the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance (Department) has sent notices to nonresidents who usually work from the NY office of their employers and who allocated income to the location where they worked remotely (outside NY) during…

Much of the business community, along with the rest of the country, was taken by surprise by the CDC guidance regarding mask wearing issued on May 13, 2021. It was unclear how the new guidance, subsequently adopted in many states, would impact public-facing private businesses, which under the guidance clearly had the option to apply different rules in their workplaces, but which faced clear practical problems in doing so in the form of pushback (verbal or…

In a blow to California’s commercial trucking industry, the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that California law relating to whether workers can be classified as employees is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (the “FAAAA”). As a result, it will remain difficult under California’s current test for transportation companies to establish an independent contractor relationship with its drivers, including owner-operators. If drivers are determined by a court or regulatory agency to…

On May 24, New Jersey Gov. Murphy issued executive order (EO) No. 242, a sweeping EO that lifts significant COVID-19 restrictions and adopts other measures in a two-phased approach aimed at reopening the state – some restrictions to lift May 28 and others June 4. Notwithstanding the weighty nature of these latest steps, masks and social distancing requirements remain in place at many locations, including corporate offices, schools, public transportation, and health care settings,…

In a sign that the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact is waning and vaccines are having an impact on the spread of the virus, on May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated people may resume their pre-COVID-19 pandemic activities without wearing a mask, except where required by, among other things, federal or state law and local business and workplace guidance and rules. Though welcome news for many, the CDC’s…

California recently enacted an employee recall law that may substantially affect employers in the tourism and travel industries amid the emerging post-Covid-19 economy. On the heels of Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement to fully reopen its economy on June 15, 2021 – presuming the welcome and waning Covid-19 hospitalization rates – the state took another step to protect laid-off employees who had worked in hotels, clubs, event centers (e.g. concert halls, stadiums, sports arenas, racetracks, coliseums,…

Please join Greenberg Traurig for a virtual discussion of recent developments regarding the definition of “independent contractor” and considerations for due diligence reviews and worker classification compliance. This webinar will provide an overview of various regulations and laws governing the definition of independent contractor and legal and practical implications resulting from the variations. Tuesday, May 25, 2021 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT REGISTER TODAY Topics Include: Laws Impacting the Independent Contractor Definition PROAct Unemployment…