Employers Must Initiate Interactive Process for Employees with Disabilities
Three recent cases remind employers that they are obligated to initiate the interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations for job applicants and employees with disabilities. Saint Clare’s Health hired Taylor McKay as an EMS dispatcher. Five days before her scheduled start date, McKay was hospitalized and induced into early labor due to preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related […]
Religious Teachers and the Ministerial Exception According to the US DOL
The Department of Labor (“DOL”), in its opinion letter FLSA2021-2, recently concluded that private religious school teachers may be exempt from the wage and hour requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) if such teachers qualify as “ministers.” Last summer, in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrisey-Berru, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the […]
EEOC Addresses COVID-19 Vaccination
Numerous healthcare workers have been injected with the COVID-19 vaccine and it is only a matter of time until the vaccine becomes available to all eligible workers throughout the country. In light of this, on December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) answered questions about mandatory vaccination of employees in its guidance entitled, […]
Federal COVID-19 Leave Law Ended but NYS and NJ Laws Mandate COVID-19 Leave
As of January 1, 2021, employers are no longer required by federal law to provide paid sick leave to employees for reasons related to COVID-19. The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which mandated such leaves, expired as of December 31, 2020, and was not extended. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA 2021), enacted […]
3 Tips for Handling Remote Worker Reimbursement Claims
Chaim Book was quoted in a Law360 article published today, titled “3 Tips for Handling Remote Worker Reimbursement Claims” and authored by Mike LaSusa.
End of 2020 Reminders for NYS and NJ Employers
As this unusual year nears its end, New York (NYS) and New Jersey (NJ) employers must be mindful of several changes to employment laws that will go into effect as of 2021. New York Paid Family Leave (PFL): Starting on January 1, 2021, the amount of paid family leave available to eligible employees under NYS […]
DOL Issues Opinion Letters on Employee Compensation for Voluntary Training Attendance and Work-Related Travel Time
Does an employer have to pay employees for attending training courses or lectures? Does an employer have to pay employees for time spent traveling to work or job sites? The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently answered these questions in some detail. The DOL issued two opinion letters on the compensability of time non-exempt employees […]
NYS Paid Sick Leave Law FAQs Published
On October 20, 2020, the NYS Department of Labor (“DOL”) released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) concerning the NYS Sick Leave Law (“NYSSL”) that went into effect on September 30, 2020. The FAQs are a helpful first step in allowing employers and employees to navigate and understand the NYSSL, but leaves some questions unanswered. Here are […]
Amended NYC Earned Safe and Sick Leave Act Effective September 30, 2020
The New York City Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA) was amended by Senate Bill S7506B. Some of the amendments essentially mirror the new New York State Sick Leave law (NYSSL). The amendments were signed into law on September 28, 2020 and took effect on September 30, 2020, the same day the NYSSL went […]
New York State’s Paid Sick Leave Law Effective September 30, 2020
New York State’s new sick leave law (NYSSLL) goes into effect tomorrow, September 30, 2020. Employers must allow employees to start accruing sick leave tomorrow or must advance the total required amount of sick leave as of January 1, 2021. Employees may begin to use sick leave under the new law as of January 1, […]
