New York COVID-19 Developments: NYS DOL Encourages Workers to File a Complaint Online

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The New York State Department of Labor (“NYS DOL”) has launched a new webpage dedicated to alerting workers regarding COVID-19 related employment protections and allowing  them to submit  a complaint online by simply clicking the “File a Complaint” link. The new webpage encourages workers to file a complaint with the NYS DOL if their employers violate any provisions of the state’s new law providing sick leave, paid family leave and disability benefits to employees impacted by mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19, including any violations of Governor Cuomo’s recent Executive Order mandating all non-essential workers to stay home. These violations include being forced to perform work at an employer’s worksite if the employer is a non-essential business or being threatened if an employee does not work at a place other than the employee’s home. It should be noted that the NYS DOL appears to be creating the right to file a complaint on a number of issues that are not explicitly addressed within the legislation or guidance regarding the legislation and it remains to be seen whether the NYS DOL has authority to pursue alleged violations of the legislation for the reasons described below. READ MORE →

COVID-19 UK: Employment – Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: further clarification – Update

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Following our update last week around the guidance from the UK Government on the announced Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, further clarification on some (but not all) of the grey areas has now been provided. We have set out below some of the main points of clarification. READ MORE →

COVID-19 Update: Germany to Give Working Parents State-Funded Compensation Claim During Closure of Childcare and Schools

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Deutsch: COVID-19-Krise: FAQ zum neuen Entschädigungsanspruch für berufstätige Eltern nach § 56 Abs. 1a IfSchG

For working parents who are unable to fulfil their working duties due to the closure of kindergarten, day care centre and/or school as a result of the pandemic, the German parliament has passed a new law in a fast-track procedure. The essential aspect under this legislative change is that under certain conditions, affected parents are granted a state-funded compensation claim under the German Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSchG), which is legally distinct from the contractual remuneration claim. READ MORE →

Responding to Healthcare Employee Concerns in the COVID-19 Age

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As the battle against COVID-19 intensifies, healthcare workers have become vocal about their perceptions of deficiencies surrounding patient care and safety within their workplaces and have expressed their views publicly on social media and other platforms. Videos, photographs, and testimonials underscore employees’ concerns about patient care and the availability of protective gear and other supplies. Healthcare employers have, at the same time, struggled to regulate the flow of information and misinformation about COVID-19 in their facilities. In some cases, healthcare employers have prohibited employees from speaking to the media without express authorization under new or existing policies. READ MORE →

FFCRA Guidance from the IRS: How To Secure Tax Credits for COVID-19 Leave Payments

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On March 31, 2020, the IRS issued “COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses FAQs” to help small and midsize employers navigate the tax relief available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). READ MORE →

COVID-19 Update: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Emeryville Take Local Legislative Measures

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In the wake of coronavirus and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, California cities are taking their own measures. San Francisco launched the Workers and Families First Program to reimburse employers for providing extra sick leave beyond their existing policies. The City Council of Los Angeles approved a supplemental paid sick leave ordinance, which the mayor is expected to sign. And Emeryville issued guidance on the permissible coronavirus-related uses for sick leave under its local paid sick leave ordinance. READ MORE →

Six Bay Area Counties Issue Revised Shelter-In-Place Orders Requiring Essential Businesses to Develop and Post Social Distancing Protocols

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On March 31, 2020, the six Bay Area counties that previously issued the nation’s first Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, amended and extended their prior orders to include stricter controls aimed to slow the spread of COVID-19. The new orders, which are now in effect in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties (as well as the City of Berkeley) have a new end date of May 3, 2020 – a change from the prior end date of April 7, 2020. They also revise and narrow the scope of businesses deemed essential, and expressly require any employer with employees who are working on-site to develop a “Social Distancing Protocol” that must be posted in the form required by the orders. The new orders also acknowledge Governor Newsom’s statewide March 19, 2020 Executive Order N-33-20, but explain they are, “in certain respects more stringent” than the statewide order in order to address “the particular facts and circumstances” in the county and in the Bay Area. Accordingly, they explicitly state, “Where a conflict exists between this Order and any state public health order related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most restrictive provision controls.” READ MORE →

COVID-19 Update: Maryland and Virginia Institute Stay-at-Home Orders

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As of March 30, 2020, Maryland and Virginia became the latest states to issue stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The directive to keep people at home began just two weeks ago in California and has now been adopted by more than half the states. READ MORE →

New York State Department of Labor Releases Guidance and FAQs for Compliance with Newly-Enacted COVID-19 Leave Law

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The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) has issued guidance (the “Guidance”) and answers to frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) relating to various aspects of the newly-enacted legislation providing emergency sick leave, expanded New York Paid Family Leave (“NYPFL”) and expanded short-term disability benefits to certain employees unable to work because of COVID-19. Our previous analysis of this legislation (the “Act”) and what it means for employers can be found here: https://blogs.orrick.com/employment/2020/03/. READ MORE →