Posted May 6, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits, Antitrust Laws
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that associations and its members are engaging. With the stay at home orders in place across the country, in-person meetings have been replaced with video or teleconferences, and a lot more communication is being done in writing.
Posted May 4, 2020 with Tags Labor and Employment, Employment, Immigration, Announcements
Law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis (NJL) announces it has expanded its labor and employment law offerings by adding the members of the corporate immigration law firm Myers Thompson Medeiros. Joining the firm’s labor and employment practice group are attorneys John Medeiros, Sam Myers, Elizabeth Thompson, Jesse Goldfarb, Mike Sevilla, and Rebecca Desnoyers along with five immigration case managers.
Posted May 4, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, Restaurants
The threat to these industries is nothing short of existential, says Special Counsel John Levy in a presentation that he gave with Club E Digital on April 30, 2020.
Posted May 1, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers
A significant concern for employers is potential liability to employees who contract COVID-19 at work – either employees in essential businesses who continued to work or employees who may be called back to work after restrictions are eased.
Posted May 1, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits
The Federal Reserve Board clarified nonprofits are ineligible for the Main Street Lending Program, but also noted they are evaluating a separate approach specific to nonprofits.
Posted April 30, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers, WARN Act
In this unprecedented business environment, many employers have been forced to take swift action to stay afloat during the pandemic. Two common actions have been furloughs and layoffs. But each raises legal risks under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”) and related state laws.
Posted April 24, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, Higher Education
“Stay-at-home” orders in response to COVID-19 have shifted learning from college classrooms to online platforms and emptied residence and dining halls. Campus administrators are responding to demands from parents and students to refund tuition, housing and meal plan costs, and student fees. Most institutions have adopted policies to reimburse prorated fees and expenses, but are not offering tuition refunds. For many families, this is not enough, and several have filed class-action lawsuits against the schools, with more likely to come.
Posted April 23, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers
On April 23, Governor Walz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-40, which expands the number of businesses permitted to operate in-person during Minnesota’s “stay-at-home” order. Under the Order, individuals working in certain types of businesses are permitted to return to work starting next week, Monday, April 27, provided other conditions are met.
Posted April 23, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers, Remote Working
Ensuring that hourly employees accurately record their work time—and that employees are paid for all work time—can be a challenge even under the best of circumstances. But it’s crucial to avoid or defend costly class litigation or audits from the Department of Labor. These “off the clock” issues may be exacerbated for employers who now have hourly employees working remotely during the pandemic. Remote work means employers have less oversight and ability to enforce timekeeping rules. This is made even more complicated because employees may be working—and responding to work requests—during odd hours as they navigate other home obligations.
Posted April 23, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers
Last week, the EEOC issued additional COVID-19 related guidance designed to aid employers as they begin to welcome employees back to work, including disability accommodation requests under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and anti-harassment issues. The EEOC’s expanded guidance is summarized below.
Posted April 22, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 Products, COVID-19
Unlike the majority of states, Minnesota has no anti-price gouging statute on its books. Minnesota has sought to ban price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic through an executive order issued by Governor Walz on March 20, 2020. Since that time, the Minnesota Attorney General has received hundreds of complaints of alleged price gouging and pursued enforcement action against many businesses. The potential also exists that private litigants could seek to bring lawsuits against businesses for alleged price gouging activity.
Posted April 21, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits, Business Loans
Some of the COVD-19 pandemic emergency loan programs limit eligibility to businesses and to nonprofits based on their size or other qualifications. Businesses or nonprofits with more than 500 employees are often left wondering what loans they can apply for, and which loans would be the best for their organizations and their needs.
Posted April 20, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19
ERISA lawsuits typically grow in numbers whenever there is an economic downturn. Though COVID-19’s financial impact is still unfolding, employer-sponsored employee-stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the employers themselves are likely to once again face a heightened risk of litigation. In particular, we anticipate a rise in so-called “stock-drop” lawsuits involving ESOPs.
Posted April 17, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19, California Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide Executive Order requiring large employers to provide up to 80 hours of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) for food sector workers and to permit extra handwashing breaks, effective immediately (April 16, 2020).
Posted April 14, 2020 with Tags Employers, Retailers, Employment Class Actions, Non-competes, No-Poaching Agreements
Saks Fifth Avenue and several luxury designers were recently hit with a nationwide class-action lawsuit regarding their alleged use of no-poach agreements to limit solicitation of retail store employees between Saks and the designers. Employers using similar agreements (written or otherwise) not to hire other companies’ employees should reconsider those agreements in light of this emerging litigation.
Posted April 13, 2020 with Tags CPSC recalls, CPSC, COVID-19, COVID-19 Products
In response to the global pandemic and disruptions to supply chains, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has alerted consumers for the past few weeks that recall remedies might be unavailable or otherwise delayed.
Posted April 12, 2020 with Tags EEOC, COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers, Discrimination
On April 9, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance to help employers manage workplace issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic without running afoul of federal non-discrimination laws. The EEOC’s updated guidance focuses primarily on employers’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We discuss the highlights.
Posted April 10, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, California Law, COVID-19 for Employers
During the week of April 6, 2020, several cities expanded paid sick leave entitlements during the COVID-19 crisis. We outline a few of these here.
Posted April 10, 2020 with Tags Nonprofits, COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits
During the COVID-19 pandemic, here's how nonprofits should be approaching board and member meetings.
Posted April 10, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, CDC, COVID-19
On April 8, 2020, the CDC issued new guidance advising critical infrastructure workers (essential workers needed to maintain the services and functions that communities depend on daily) to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and certain precautions are implemented to protect them and the community.
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