A few recent cases may have savvy employers rethinking their military leave policies and choosing to pay employees on short-term military leave to the same extent they voluntarily pay employees benefits for other leaves of absence, such as jury duty, bereavement, and sick leave.…

Despite some employees receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, employers should still require workers to wear face coverings and remain physically distant to help prevent the spread of the virus, according to updated guidance by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, as of February 14, 2021, 53.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the United States…

Employers that want to maintain non-union status must be aware of the significant and rapid shift of the NLRB toward pro-union positions. Everyone expected the NLRB pendulum to swing pro-union, but few observers expected the pendulum to be immediately and forcibly pushed as it has been. First was the prompt and unprecedented ousting of the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, and appointment of an extremely labor-friendly Acting General Counsel. Although the appointment of a…

Employers were required to distribute and file Forms W-2 by February 1. To the extent they have not already done so, employers should confirm that any leave wages paid in 2020 pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) were properly reported on Forms W-2. The Internal Revenue Service provided guidance concerning reporting of FFCRA leave wages in Notice 2020-54.…

While President Biden’s initial flurry of executive orders largely sought to address the pandemic and undo the regulatory legacy of his predecessor, one order places LGBTQ protection at the heart of the new Administration’s agenda. That order, “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” states the new Administration’s general policy: “Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear,…

With the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021, immigration reform is on the near horizon. Employers are advised to stay abreast of fluid immigration policies that could have sweeping effects on the sponsorship of various foreign national workers.  In addition, several immigration rules promulgated in the final weeks of the Trump administration are now halted and could soon be reversed.…

With no clear guidance and different factors being given different weight by different courts, employers have struggled for years with whether workers can be properly classified as independent contractors, rather than employees, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Now, the Department of Labor has issued a new rule  making clear what factors should be applied and how they should be weighted. The ultimate focus is on  whether a worker is economically dependent on the…