- Written by: John E. Falcone
The new Virginia Values Act will go into effect July 1, 2020. This is groundbreaking legislation that, among other things, prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The law is far-reaching and governs discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing, banking and education. This blog will focus on the employment aspects of the new law.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
This will be the first in our series about the new legislation resulting from the 2020 Virginia General Assembly session.
- Written by: John E. Falcone
Many of your companies have already applied for and received the loans provided by the new Paycheck Protection Program which is part of the CARES Act. A key incentive to receive these loans is the forgiveness feature. Loans are forgiven when the proceeds are used for any of these costs:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Department of Labor and IRS have issued temporary regulations concerning the supporting documentation required when employees request paid sick leave and emergency family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL regulations provide that an employer may (but are not required to) require employees to follow reasonable notice procedures as soon as practical. That can be after the first workday or portion of a workday for which an employee receives paid sick leave in order to continue to receive such leave. The employee must provide a signed statement containing:
- Written by: John E. Falcone
The Department of Labor has now issued guidance in the form of Q & A’s concerning the health care and small business exemptions from the paid leave provisions of the FFCRA. The guidance concerning health care is as follows:
56. Who is a “health care provider” who may be excluded by their employer from paid sick leave and/or expanded family and medical leave?
For the purposes of employees who may be exempted from paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave by their employer under the FFCRA, a health care provider is anyone employed at any doctor’s office, hospital, health care center, clinic, post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, medical school, local health department or agency, nursing facility, retirement facility, nursing home, home health care provider, any facility that performs laboratory or medical testing, pharmacy, or any similar institution, employer, or entity. This includes any permanent or temporary institution, facility, location, or site where medical services are provided that are similar to such institutions.
- 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.