Labor & Employment Law Updates
On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision clarifying that employers can discipline employees for engaging in deeply offensive and abusive conduct, including racially inappropriate language or language of a sexual nature, that occurs while engaging in protected, concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
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On July 11, 2020, Colorado enacted the Public Health Emergency Whistleblower Law (“PHEW”), which was effective immediately. PHEW is intended to protect employees and independent contractors from discrimination and retaliation for raising safety and health concerns related to a public health emergency.
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This week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 20-205, known as the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (“HFWA”), into law, providing Colorado workers with up to six paid sick days per year. Starting January 1, 2021, employers in Colorado
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In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the ministerial exception — a legal doctrine that shields religious employers from anti-discrimination laws — applied to two discrimination suits brought by California parochial elementary school teachers against their employers.
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On June 24, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin providing that effective July 1, 2020, the DOL will no longer pursue pre-litigation liquidated damages in all cases in its administratively resolved investigations.
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This week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed two bills into law providing financial relief to Colorado small businesses. House Bill 20-1413 establishes a $250 million small business loan program for Colorado’s small businesses over the next two years
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Following in the footsteps of several states, including Colorado, that have protections for employees from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that federal law Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) protects LGBTQ employees from employer discrimination.
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On May 25, 2020, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (“CDLE”) issued the final Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order (“COMPS Order”) #36.
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Colorado Senate Bill 216 proposes the creation of a rebuttable presumption for purposes of qualifying for workers’ compensation benefit coverage for essential workers who are diagnosed with COVID-19.
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On Thursday, the U.S House of Representatives passed a bill giving business owners more flexibility in how they use loans received through the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
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On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued a final rule that withdrew the “partial list of establishments” it previously viewed as having “no retail concept,” which disqualified the employees of certain commissioned retail and service establishment from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime exemption.
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The U.S. Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) updated its guidance for businesses and employers to plan, prepare and respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”), which supplements its earlier guidance published in March 2020.
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As employers across the country begin the process of reopening their businesses, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its guidance for employers relating to providing reasonable accommodations as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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As states around the country, including Colorado, relax their sheltering in place orders, non-critical businesses are beginning to reopen. To ensure that COVID-19 does not further spread, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the Colorado Department of Health & Environment have issued new guidance and regulations so that they can safely operate
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Congress is set to pass the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, amending the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), to make additional funds available for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
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On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued interim guidance clarifying OSHA’s recordkeeping requirement as it relates to recording cases of COVID-19.
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On April 3, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which is the government’s third round of financial support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the primary provisions of the CARES Act is the allocation of $350 billion dollars for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
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On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published its temporary rule issuing regulations to implement and clarify protections provided by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”), which are both part of the recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”).
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As COVID-19 continues to spread, impacting business operations around the country and causing employers to lay off workers, employers must consider whether the elimination of jobs triggers notice requirements under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act “(WARN Act”).
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On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“the Act”), which provides paid sick leave and paid family medical leave expansion to workers in the United States affected by the novel coronavirus.
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