CALIFORNIA RENEWS AND EXPANDS COVID-19 SUPPLEMENTAL PAID SICK LEAVE March 22, 2021 Last year, supplemental paid sick leave was required to be paid to certain employees by certain employers under the FFCRA and California’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL)...

EMPLOYMENT LAW COVID-19 UPDATE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 March 19, 2021 On March 11, 2021 President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) which includes not only the stimulus checks that most Americans are eagerly awaiting, but...

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE - COVID 19 DFEH UPDATE ON VACCINATIONS March 11, 2021 On March 4, 2021, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing updated their FAQ’s on COVID-19.  This update addresses the issue of vaccinations in the workplace. The full FAQ’s can be found...

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE (NON-COVID-19 ) CALIFORNIA PAY DATA REPORTING DEADLINE APPROACHES February 22, 2021 The obligation to report certain pay data through the annual EEO-1 report has been a long standing requirement for private employers with 100 or more employees....

EMPLOYMENT LAW COVID-19 UPDATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY IMPOSES PAID SICK LEAVE RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1, 2021 FEBRUARY 4, 2021 - Los Angeles County As has been previously reported, the Extended Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) benefits provided by the FFCRA expired as of December...

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS UPDATE January 28, 2021 As the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccinations become more readily available, there are no doubt many questions that will arise.  In answer to some of these questions, employers should look to state, local and federal...

Cal/OSHA Issues Updated FAQs on ETS January 18, 2021 On January 8, 2021 Cal-OSHA published new Frequently Asked Questions to assist with the implementation of the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) that were issued in November 2020. The FAQs help clarify and answer...

MANDATORY FFCRA BENEFITS EXPIRED  January 11, 2021 When the FFCRA was enacted, private employers with 500 or fewer employers were required to provide employees with up to 80 hours of paid sick leave and up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family leave for specified...

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE REMINDER - JANUARY 1, 2021 December 9, 2020 Employers are reminded that on January 1, 2021, the state minimum wage will increase despite so many businesses having been hit with drastic economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Requests have...

CAL OSHA STRICT NEW STANDARDS IMPOSED ON EMPLOYERS December 4, 2020 In response to the continuing surge in COVID-19 cases, on November 30, 2020 the Cal OSHA Standards Board approved new Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) imposing significant and substantial new...

CALIFORNIA LIMITED STAY AT HOME ORDER EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 21 On Thursday November 20, California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “We are sounding the alarm” and in conjunction with the California Depart of Public Health, issued a limited “Stay at Home” Order. For counties...

As we prepare for cooler weather, and the upcoming holiday season, we also need to prepare for the many new employment laws that will take effect January 1, 2021. In the final days before the deadline to sign or veto proposed legislation, Governor Newsom was busy...

POTENTIAL JOINT EMPLOYER LIABILITY WITH STAFFING AGENCIES Employers (referred to as “client-employer”) who obtain workers through a “labor contractor” (e.g. staffing agencies) can be held liable for the wage and hour violations committed by the staffing agency even if...

Prior to COVID-19 working remotely was not a common-place occurrence for businesses; however, with the concerns surrounding returning to work in this COVID-19 era, working remotely may be an option for employees that continues for some time. There are numerous factors...

NEW LAW IMPOSES NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS ON EMPLOYERS On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 685 which imposes upon employers the requirement to provide written notifications to employees within one business day of receiving notice of...

This year, as in past years, the Governor has been presented numerous new pieces of employment-related legislation for signature which will have significant impact upon California employers.  Most of these new laws will take effect as of January 1, 2021. Below is a...

On Friday, September 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised FFCRA regulations that will be formally published on September 16. When the FFCRA was signed into law on March 18, 2020 it required employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide up to 80...

As we all know, AB5 was passed into law on January 1, 2020, which entirely changed the landscape relating to the classification of certain workers as independent contractors. Specifically it codified and expanded the “ABC” test, which had been adopted by the 2018...

On Friday August 28, 2019 Governor Newsom issued a Blueprint for a Safer Economy which provides a risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening COVID-19 permitted activities. The Blueprint is based on a 4 tier structure setting forth different restrictions for...

REMOTE LEARNING, CHILD CARE CLOSURES AND EMPLOYEE TIME OFF Managing work schedules of employees to accommodate their needs due to the closure of schools and/or child care facilities due to COVID-19 and/or for those employees whose children are home due to remote...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PUBLISHES ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ON WAGE AND HOUR RULES,FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE AS WORK PLACES REOPEN On July 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor published additional guidance for workers and employers on how the protections and requirements...

On July 24, 2020, the California Department of Public Health released its Employer Playbook For a Safe Reopening providing a summary of information, links and general guidance for California employers related to COVID-19 and safely re-opening business operations. The...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been very busy recently. In the last COVID-19 update, we addressed the revised and updated FMLA forms published by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the DOL. The DOL has provided additional guidance and forms on various issues...

Non-Supervisory Training Programs Available On-Line While we are all currently overwhelmed addressing workplace concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers must continue to deal with non-COVID-19 workplace concerns including staying compliant with the...

PFL BENEFITS INCREASED TO 8 WEEKS OF WAGE REPLACEMENT AS OF JULY 1 Employees in California have been able to apply Paid Family Leave (PFL) which provides the employee with partial wage replacement benefits from the EDD if the employee needs to take time off of work...

EDD GUIDANCE ON ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS EMPLOYEES RISK LOSS OF EDD BENEFITS FOR REFUSING REINSTATEMENT The Employment Development Department (“EDD”) has issued a set of FAQ’s regarding unemployment insurance (UI) benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated guidance on June 11, 2020 for employers to address various COVID-19 issues relating to the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and other EEO laws.  The new guidance addresses medical examinations, age-related...

As if we did not have enough to cope with managing the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and trying to reopen and resume business operations, its important to remember that the next phase of the local minimum wage increase will take effect on July 1, 2020. While the State of...

RETURNING TO WORK & POTENTIAL EXPOSURES As businesses begin to resume operations and employees return to work, there are going to be occurrences of exposure, or potential exposure, to COVID-19 by your employees. The CDC is continually updating its information to...

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Alert on Social Distancing To Keep Employees Safe at Work During the Coronavirus Pandemic On May 2, 2020,the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an alert listing steps employers can...

TEMPORARY POLICY ON EXPIRED LIST B DOCUMENTS FOR I-9 PURPOSES The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced a “temporary” policy relating to the documents that may be presented by an employee for purposes of complying with Form I-9...

RETURN TO WORK ASSESSMENT & PLANNING In anxious anticipation of reopening/resuming business, and the eventual return to work there are many employment law and personnel related issues that should be considered. The assessment should not only focus on how to resume...

EEOC OFFERS GUIDANCE ON COVID-19 EMPLOYEE TESTING As employers continue to grapple with maintaining their business operations and as others begin to look forward to resuming their operations, there are many questions which arise as to the safety of the employees,...

LOS ANGELES ISSUES UPDATED AND EXPANDED WORKER PROTECTION AND SAFER AT HOME ORDERS WORKER PROTECTION ORDERS UPDATED On April 10, 2020 Mayor Garcetti issued a revision to the Worker Protection Order which he issued just a few days ago. The revised Order provides...

LA CITY ISSUES TWO NEW ORDERS WORKER PROTECTION ORDER AND SUPPLEMENTAL PAID SICK LEAVE ORDER FOR EMPLOYERS OF 500 OR MORE EMPLOYEES In our continuing effort to provide the latest information and resources relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the below newsletter details...

The Department of Labor has issued additional guidance adding to and changing some of the previously published Questions and Answers interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA). Below are excerpts from the updated guidelines (beginning with question...

FFCRA ELIGIBILITY & EMPLOYEE STATUS The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), requires that covered employers must provide employees with (i) Paid Sick Leave and (ii) Paid Family Leave for certain Coronavirus-related reasons. The FFCRA becomes effective...

As the Coronavirus continues to spread California has provided additional guidance on which businesses are deemed “essential” and may be able to stay open and operating during these difficult times.  In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division...

FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT In a continuing effort to provide updated information on the evolving laws that impact the workplace during the COVID-19 crisis, below is a brief summary of The Emergency Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) which...

In an effort to keep clients and friends of Elkins Employment Law current on the most recent information, below you will find additional guidelines and resources to assist during this difficult period of time. LAYOFFS, FURLOUGHS, TERMINATIONS & WARN ACT NOTICE...

As the world seeks to respond to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, employers and employees have many concerns. Some of the basic and easiest suggestions and recommendations for the workplace, and elsewhere are:  1) Social distancing; 2) Working from home; 3) Maintaining a...

With the California primary election just around the corner, employers need to be mindful of California law which allows employees up to two hours of paid time to vote in a statewide election if they do not have sufficient time to vote outside of working hours....

On January 31, 2020, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published the updated Form I-9, as the prior form “expired” on 8/31/2019. Click here for the form. Employers may use either this new version (which is marked with a 10/21/19 revision...

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) publishes posters and information sheets that provide employees and employers with information pertaining to their rights and obligations in the workplace.  The DFEH also publishes several brochures and fact sheets...

As in the prior several years, the California minimum wage shall increase effective January 1, 2020. Increase Is Dependent on Number of Employees The amount of the increase is dependent on the number of employees. However, determining the number of employees is not...

Current law requires that an employer must provide a reasonable amount of break time to allow employees to express breast milk. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Such break time that does not run...

At the end of this year’s legislative session 870 bills were signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, many of which will have significant impact upon California employers including the widely publicized law regarding independent contractor classifications. Below is a...