Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most employers were reluctant to allow employees to work from home on a continuous basis.  Many companies prohibited all teleworking or allowed employees only to work remotely when recovering from an illness or when required as a reasonable accommodation.  When COVID-19 hit, many employees began working remotely and it appears that working from home is now, for many employees, a permanent situation.  I, myself, have seen the advantages of working from…

Change in the political party of an administration can be expected to impact the development and interpretation of federal law and regulation.  This is particularly true in the transition between former President Trump’s administration and that of President Joseph R. Biden. President Biden has only been the President for two weeks, yet he has already made significant changes in the agencies that enforce federal labor and employment law.  Below are some of the changes already…

The City of Minneapolis determined that many freelance workers (independent contractors) need legal and economic protections since they are not covered by employment laws.  The City, therefore, enacted the Minneapolis Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance (the “Ordinance”).  This Ordinance, effective January 1, 2021, requires companies to enter into written agreements with most freelance workers. The Ordinance contains provisions applicable to a commercial hiring party, and other requirements applicable to an individual hiring party. Commercial Hiring Party…

After much hand wringing, negotiation and name-calling, Congress has passed its second COVID-19 stimulus package, which was signed by President Trump on Sunday, December 27, 2020. For months, clients have been asking whether the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) will be renewed or whether it will expire on December 31. We now have the answer. The FFCRA Mandatory Leave Requirements Expire on December 31, 2020 The mandated leave provision, for both emergency paid sick…

Now that the first COVID-19 vaccines are being delivered and administered and a second vaccine is close behind, employers are asking whether they can require that employees be vaccinated.  In September,  Dan Ballintine and I recorded a podcast on mandatory vaccines. On December 16, 2020, the EEOC issued guidance on the ADA and vaccines.  Although this guidance does not change the information that Dan and I provided in our podcast, I thought it would…

The EEOC has encouraged employers to voluntarily modify employment practices and systems which create barriers to equal employment opportunity, without waiting for litigation or formal government action.  The EEOC has said that the principle of nondiscrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and the principle that each employer should take voluntary action to correct the effects of past discrimination and to prevent present and future discrimination are mutually consistent and…