- Written by: John E. Falcone
On Friday, March 27, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted. The goal of the new law is to boost the economy with provisions that will provide direct payments to individuals and relief for businesses, including provisions that will impact:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Department of Labor has provided a model workplace poster concerning the new emergency paid sick and family leave requirements of the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which takes effect April 1. The poster for non-federal employees can be found on the DOL’s website at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
Yesterday, March 23, Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 53 requiring the closing of certain businesses. The order can be found online at
- Written by: John E. Falcone
This is the first in a series of our blogs about coronavirus issues.
We have received several inquiries about whether employers may take employees’ temperatures to determine if they have the coronavirus. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from making medical inquiries of employees or requiring medical examinations unless they are job related and consistent with business necessity. The EEOC has now issued guidance on this subject.
- Written by: Amy Miles Kowalski
Classifying a worker as an “independent contractor” rather than an employee is attractive to employers for several reasons. Whereas employees have taxes withheld from their paychecks and have legal protections such as the minimum wage law, unemployment benefits, and workers’ compensation insurance, independent contractors are considered to be self-employed. As such, independent contractors are responsible for paying their own taxes and benefits such as health insurance expenses and for setting their own work schedules. The availability of workers compensation benefits and unemployment insurance is also limited when a worker is classified as an independent contractor. Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation in an attempt to stop employer misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
- Written by: Amy Miles Kowalski
Workplace harassment is not a new phenomenon. However, its place in the spotlight over the last several years and in the wake of the #metoo movement has led employers to re-examine their harassment policies and training efforts. An EEOC task force concluded in a 2016 report that in most cases, anti-harassment training isn’t working. Why? Most harassment training focuses on technical compliance with the law, claim prevention and defense tactics, using outlandish or extreme examples that are not relatable and can be abstract, boring and irrelevant to employees. Current research indicates that employers’ focus is better placed on prevention and creating a culture of mutual respect and tolerance that is conducive to disclosure of inappropriate behaviors.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) imposes limits on requesting medical information from a job applicant. Before extending a job offer, it is unlawful for an employer to (1) ask an applicant medical questions, or whether he/she is disabled, or about the nature or severity of a disability; or (2) to require the applicant to take a medical exam before making a job offer. You can ask the applicant questions about ability to perform job-related functions, as long as the questions are not phrased in terms of a disability.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
Effective January 1, 2020, Virginia law will require employers to provide employees with a paystub or online accounting on each regular pay date. Current Virginia law requires employers to provide employees with “a written statement of the gross wages earned by the employee during any pay period and the amount and purpose of any deductions therefrom,” and only upon request of the employee. Under the new law, a written statement in the form of a paystub or online accounting must show the following:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today issued its long-awaited final rule adjusting the salary level for exempt employees. The new rule will go into effect January 1, 2020 and raises the "standard salary level" from the currently enforced level of $455 to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker).
- Written by: John E. Falcone
For those employers covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (50 employees within a 75 mile radius), be on the lookout for changes to the 7 optional-use FMLA forms published by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. On August 5, the DOL published a notice announcing a 60-day public comment period on the proposed revisions.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius. Employees who have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months and have at least 1,250 hours of service in the previous 12 months are eligible for up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for certain medical-related reasons. Many employers, however, incorrectly assume that once an employee has been out of work for 12 weeks of FMLA-covered leave, that employee may then automatically be terminated for excessive absenteeism if he/she misses additional time from work for a medical condition.
