Category: Employment and Labor Law
To Party or Not to Party: CDC Guidelines on Holiday Gatherings in a Time of COVID
11/5/20 This is typically the time when businesses begin to plan for their holiday celebration for employees. Before COVID, most such celebrations took the form of an office get-together, whether at the business, a restaurant/bar, or somewhere similar. Things will have to be different this year. While a holiday celebration may certainly help with employee …
The CDC Has Issued a Revised Definition of “Close Contact”
On October 21, 2020, the CDC issued an updated definition of the type of “close contact” sufficient for potential transmission of COVID-19. The term “close contact” was previously defined by the CDA as a contact within 6 feet for 15 consecutive minutes or more. With the update, though, the CDC has amended that definition to mean …
OSHA Has Issued a New Guidance Addressing Reporting of COVID-19 Cases
On October 1, 2020, OSHA issued a new guidance that addresses the circumstances under which cases of a COVID-related hospital admission or a fatality must be reported to the OSHA. The new guidance for cases resulting in a hospital admission uses the following language: Under 29 CFR 1904.39(b)(6), employers are only required to report in-patient hospitalizations …
Maine Minimum Wage Increases Effective January 1, 2021
The Maine Department of Labor recently announced that the state minimum wage will increase from $12 to $12.15 per hour as of January 1, 2021. The increase is based on the Maine law passed several years ago that provides that annual adjustments to minimum wage as of 2021 are to be based on the cost …
Important Caregiver Leave Law Update
This is an update to the email blast we provided last week reminding employers that Maine’s Employment Leave for Caregivers and Persons Affected by Extreme Public Health Emergency law will likely apply to pandemic related issues. One question that came from that is whether and how that law applies to parents whose children are either …
Breaking News: DOL Releases new FAQ’s Addressing FFCRA Leave for Remote Schooling
Yesterday, the federal DOL released three separate FAQ’s addressing the issue of FFCRA’s application to remote learning situations. This is an area that had been lacking clarity so the new FAQ’s are particularly welcome and timely, given the impending start of school. We know that the FFCRA applies to eligible employees where a child’s school …
Employers Must Remember to Consider all Potential Protected Leave for COVID-related Issues
A lot of information has been circulating about leave for parents who are struggling with the return to work issues in light of the COVID-related school and child care situations. Most of the focus has been on FFCRA rights. However, employers must remember that there is an additional State law that may come into play …
CDC Issues Guidance on Dealing with Workplace Violence Associated with COVID-19
The CDC issued guidance on August 24, 2020, specific to handling violent situations in retail, services, and other customer-based business settings. The stated purpose of the guidance is to “offer strategies to limit violence towards workers that may occur when businesses put in place policies and practices to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 among …
Several Significant DOL Regulations Interpreting the FFCRA are Held Invalid by NY Court
Within the last few days, there has been a major development as to the DOL’s regulations interpreting the FFCRA. Its overall implications remain unclear, as I note at the end here, but you should be aware of it. A federal district court in New York has ruled that several of the Department of Labor’s regulations interpreting …
OSHA Revises COVID Reporting Requirements
OSHA has issued an updated FAQ that changes the requirement for reporting a hospitalization due to contraction of COVID at work. The prior instruction from OSHA was that under §1904.39(b)(6), employers are required to report an inpatient hospitalization only if the hospital admission “occurs within twenty-four (24) hours of the work-related incident.” This has been interpreted …