- Written by: John E. Falcone
Employers covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles) should be aware of the newly-revised FMLA forms posted by the U.S. Department of Labor on its website. Here are the links to the new forms, including:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
As part of the new Virginia Values Act, a new Virginia Code section extends discrimination protections to pregnant employees. The law applies to employers with 5 or more employees and prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or “related medical conditions” including lactation. It applies to job applicants as well as employees. The new statute can be found at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/2.2-3909/.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued revised guidance concerning how long employers should require employees to stay at home after testing positive for Covid-19. Based on evolving medical information about the infectious period of coronavirus, the new guidance reduces the quarantine time from 14 days to 10 days in most cases.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
Our previous blogs discussed the new workplace safety rules adopted by the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The regulations are known as the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), and are now in effect after yesterday’s publication in the Richmond Times Dispatch. The final text is posted on the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s website at:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
On July 15, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted the new set of workplace safety rules that had been proposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Under direction of Governor Northam, and because the federal OSHA agency has not implemented any such regulations, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry drafted the regulations known as the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The text of the standard is being finalized and will be posted on the Department’s website as soon as it is available, but it is anticipated that it will take the same form as originally proposed: emergency temporary standard . The ETS will take immediate effect upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Richmond, which the Department anticipates will occur during the week of July 27.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has proposed a new set of workplace safety rules in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Under direction of Governor Northam, and because the federal OSHA agency has not implemented any such regulations, the Virginia Department has drafted regulations which the state Safety and Health Codes Board has adopted on an emergency basis. The emergency temporary standard must be given final approval by the Board after receiving public comment.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
In previous blogs we have discussed in detail some of the many new employment laws enacted in the Virginia General Assembly’s 2020 session. Here is a reminder of some of those laws that will go into effect July 1.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
In our last blog we discussed the process for reporting to the VEC an employee’s refusal of an offer to return to work. We have been receiving inquiries from some companies that have received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan about the effect rehire refusals will have on the loan forgiveness. As a condition of loan forgiveness, an employer must call back to work those employees who were laid off.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
Many employers have laid off employees because of the coronavirus pandemic, but are now calling them back to work. Some companies have received a Paycheck Protection Program loan which, as a condition of loan forgiveness, requires the employer to call back to work those employees who were laid off. We have been receiving reports from employers that some employees are refusing to return to work, primarily for two reasons: (1) the employee is receiving more in compensation from unemployment benefits than the employee had been receiving from the company in pay; and (2) the employee has anxiety about returning to work because of the pandemic.
- Written by: Amy Miles Kowalski
In another of the many new laws concerning employment, the 2020 Virginia General Assembly passed and the Governor approved HB 395 which will increase Virginia’s minimum wage from its current $7.25 per hour to $15.00 per hour by 2026. The increase is to occur gradually, with the hourly rate increasing to $9.50 on May 1, 2021, $11.00 on January 1, 2022, $12.00 on January 1, 2023, $13.50 on January 1 2025 and $15.00 on January 1, 2026.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Department of Labor has provided some additional guidance about the small business exemption to the FFCRA’s expanded FMLA child care-related paid sick leave requirements. An employer, including a religious or nonprofit organization, with fewer than 50 employees is exempt from providing (a) paid sick leave due to school or place of care closures or child care provider unavailability for COVID-19 related reasons and (b) expanded family and medical leave due to school or place of care closures or child care provider unavailability for COVID-19 related reasons when doing so would jeopardize the viability of the small business as a going concern. Businesses are entitled to the exemption if an authorized officer of the business has determined that: