Telecommuting is not a new phenomenon. Whether on a full-time, part-time or sporadic basis, telecommuting has been voluntarily offered by employers, and in some cases, required as an accommodation for an employee with a disability for many years. And of course, for many employers telecommuting became a necessity during the pandemic. As employers are returning to more traditional work arrangements, however, many are faced with employees who wish to continue working from home. The push to normalize remote work is not, however, limited to employees. Many employers are taking the initiative to make this option more permanent as well in an effort to attract and retain talent.

Whether the impetus is employee or employer driven (or both) employers should review their policies and practices to avoid risks associated with telecommuting. Remote work, like other flexible work options, should be governed by a formal policy that addresses legal issues that can arise with a remote workforce including the following: …
Continue Reading Telecommuting – The Reality of Employee Expectations

Many employees are being asked to return to the office this Summer due to perceptions, true or untrue, about waning COVID infections. As a result, a number of employees are asking to remain remote or telework because they have found a better work-life balance during the pandemic. Before denying these requests due to the “team building” experience of all working in one location, employers should be aware of potential Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) pitfalls.
Continue Reading Remote Work as a Reasonable Accommodation

In the past two years, California lawmakers have focused their efforts on resolving the negative effects of COVID-19 and its variants, placing primary responsibility on employers. Several laws were recently enacted that impact employers in the context of workers’ compensation, workplace safety, and particularly, paid sick leave. California’s paid sick leave laws are daunting. The laws have become increasingly complex with unclear requirements. The following is a summary of the major paid sick leave laws including some of the compliance issues: …
Continue Reading The California 2022 Trifecta of Paid Sick Leave Laws: Employers Beware

On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion on the application for stay filed in National Federal of Independent Business v. Department of Labor. In that opinion, a six-member majority of the Court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had exceeded its authority in issuing an emergency technical standard requiring the vaccination of employees of larger employers.
Continue Reading Off Again: United States Supreme Court Blocks OSHA COVID-19 ETS

Late Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an Order and Opinion lifting the stay that previously had been entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which had prevented the OSHA COVID-19 emergency technical standard (the “ETS”) that applied to employers with 100 or more employees from going into effect. This reversal puts many employers in the position of having to immediately restart compliance efforts that may have been paused during the pendency of the stay.
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Continue Reading On Again; Sixth Circuit Lifts Stay on OSHA COVID-19 ETS

A few things employers should consider as the New Year approaches

As a new year approaches, one thing many have in common is wondering about what lies ahead. Here are just a few things employers should be considering. The overarching theme? Compliance.

Every year, laws change. For employers, these changes flag new compliance issues. This year, perhaps more than any in recent history, this exercise is more critical. Congress is primed to enact new laws in the pending infrastructure package which has, in part, set this in motion. The Biden Administration and the President’s appointments to various agencies have also dramatically made this concern even more important. These changes will require employers to review how they have been operating over the years, and how these statutory and other legal developments will require them to alter their practices going forward. This article highlights a few of these items.…

Continue Reading Labor & Employment Compliance in 2022

COVID-19 has permanently changed the workplace we once knew. Employers needed to adapt to new legislation meant to deal with the unprecedented impact of the pandemic. Expansion of the California Family Rights Act, mandatory paid sick leave for COVID-related illness, extended workplace safety protections, and workers’ compensation coverage for employees based on the rebuttable presumption they contracted COVID-19 at the workplace were just some of the laws enacted to expand and enhance employee benefits in response to the pandemic.
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Continue Reading New 2022 California Employment Laws: How Businesses Can Protect Themselves

Nearly two months after President Biden unveiled his COVID-19 Action Plan, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that requires all employers with at least 100 employees to establish, implement, and enforce a written policy mandating that each employee either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and wear face coverings indoors. OSHA clarifies that the ETS is meant to strongly encourage employers to stipulate that its employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but includes a narrow testing and face covering exception—at least for now.

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Continue Reading OSHA Releases Highly Anticipated Vaccine Mandate ETS

Texas employers who have tried to adopt “best practices” with respect to the health and safety of their employees and customers during the past 18 months have faced quite a challenge. Disagreements between officials at the local, state, and national levels, and the healthcare professionals supporting those officials, have resulted in a variety of guidance, executive orders, and laws often imposing contradictory requirements with respect to operating limitations and requirements, masking requirements, social distancing, and, now, vaccination requirements. While many may differ on their political, religious, philosophical, or other bases for supporting or opposing such requirements, most employers have gotten to the point that they simply want to know what they need to do to keep the doors open while keeping employees and customers safe. However, the answer to the issue of whether vaccinations can be required of employees just got more difficult for Texas employers.

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Continue Reading Dilemma for Texas Employers: Require Vaccinations or Not?

The Solicitor of Labor has commented that the ETS is expected to be published in the coming weeks. The ETS will go into effect immediately upon publication except for those states with their own OSHA-type laws. Those states will have up to 30 days to conform their laws to the federal edict, and once they do so, the edict will apply to the same employers subject to the federal order, plus other employers the states choose to extend the rule to, such as public employers.
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Continue Reading To Vax or Not to Vax: No Longer a Question for Larger Private Employers Under Biden’s Vaccine Mandate