The DOL is clearly plugged in to the issues and questions employers are running into as everyone plans to give notice of and grant paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL’s first round of FAQs (published on March 24, 2020) focused on how to determine if an employer meets the “fewer than 500 employees” threshold and leave calculations.  The latest rounds of FAQs (published on March 26, 2020, and March…

Late Wednesday night, the Senate passed a sweeping coronavirus economic rescue package that would pump $2 trillion into America’s economy. The House is expected to take up the bill as early as Friday, March 27. The final version of the Senate bill includes, among other things, provisions that will send checks directly to households, invest $150 billion into the nation’s healthcare system, and invest another $150 billion in state and local governments to shore up…

The Department of Labor now has issued guidance, questions and answers, and a poster for  those employers covered by the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which we have summarized here. Guidance and FAQ Highlights Notably, the FAQ states that the effective date of the FFCRA is April 1 and not April 2. (The statute’s actual language is “not later than” 15 days from enactment, which calculates to April 2).…

As more municipalities and states that are dealing with COVID-19 issue orders mandating the closing of non-essential businesses such as bars, restaurants and gyms, many hourly employees are looking at a long period of under-employment. If you are going to temporarily shut down due to virus control, should you tell your employees to go ahead and file for unemployment? Well, right now that kind of depends on your state of residence. Department of Labor Guidance On…

Last week we blogged about unemployment changes in Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia and what employers who have to reduce hours or lay off folks should be considering for their employees. Since our original post we have gotten questions about other states in our region (some of which have taken action), so we figured we would share the information (which we have outlined for you below). Mississippi: Friday evening, March 20, 2020, the Mississippi …

Several states and municipalities are moving to shutdowns in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. These shelter-in-place orders usually allow “essential” businesses to stay open. Unfortunately, like much of the current COVID-19 situation, there are many questions about how those exceptions will be applied. While this is a moving target, this blog post shows how some states are using federal guidance to define the scope. It is important that you examine your own state or locality’s…

Wednesday afternoon, the Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and President Trump signed it into law. The act contains several provisions that will significantly impact employers with fewer than 500 employees. If this applies to you, your obligations become effective no later than April 2, 2020 – 15 days from the date of enactment – and will automatically expire on December 31, 2020. Within seven days (by March 25, 2020), you are required…