Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  This week, several COVID-19 vaccine news developments and updates were announced for employers.

Paid Leave Tax Credit for Employers

President Biden recently announced employers that offer full pay to workers for vaccinations and recovery may be entitled to a paid leave tax credit.

EEOC Promises Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive Programs

EEOC acting legal counsel Carol Miaskoff said recently that the agency will release guidance on vaccine incentive programs.

OSHA Offers Guidance on Vaccine Reaction Reporting

Guidance from OSHA ...

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, our special podcast series, Employers and the New Administration, concludes with a look at how President Biden’s landmark American Rescue Plan impacts employers.

As President Biden’s first 100 days come to a close, his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is having a big impact on employers. The plan, one of the largest stimulus bills in history, attempts to provide relief to constituents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through several ways, among those ways are changes to employee benefits and compensation.

In ...

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”).  ARPA is the latest COVID-19-related stimulus legislation passed by Congress, but, unlike prior legislation, ARPA provides expansive funding rule changes and significant financial assistance to deeply underfunded multiemployer pension plans, including a one-time payment to certain plans from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) without any repayment obligations.

ARPA’s provisions regarding multiemployer pension plans focus primarily on the plans ...

Preparing the terms of employee compensation can be a resource-intensive task requiring input from stakeholders across numerous departments, including human resources, finance, and legal. However, as the Massachusetts Appeals Court’s recent decision in Alfieri v. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. demonstrates, investing those resources to complete the task will pay dividends when an employer is faced with a potentially costly claim for unpaid wages.

Background

In May 2014, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sent Michael Alfieri a letter offering him the position of ...

A recently discovered security vulnerability potentially affecting at least 100 million Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices[1] highlights the importance of the newly enacted IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 (the “IoT Act”). Researchers at the security firms Forescout Research Labs and JSOF Research Labs have jointly published a report detailing a security vulnerability known as “NAME:WRECK.” This is exactly the type of issue that the new IoT Act was and is designed to address at the governmental level, because the vulnerability can detrimentally affect ...

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  Here's a rundown of some of the top developments in employment law and workforce management this week:

Guidance for Mitigating Retirement Plan Cybersecurity Risk

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued its first cybersecurity best practices guidance for retirement plans. To assist plan sponsors and fiduciaries with their responsibilities to prudently select and monitor service providers, the guidance outlines considerations they can use to determine that service providers ...

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  This week, employers continue waiting on OSHA's COVID-19 emergency temporary standard as retaliation claims rise.

Video: YouTube, Vimeo.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are intended to promote the “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of lawsuits. For companies defending baseless employment claims, those words may feel like an empty promise. The First Circuit’s recent decision in Alston v. Spiegel sanctioning an attorney for filing frivolous discrimination and retaliation claims, however, reminds employers that there are strategies for deterring such claims

Facts

In late 2015, attorney Brooks Ames filed a complaint on behalf of Gerald Alston, a former firefighter for the Town of Brookline ...

After keeping us waiting with baited breath for several years, the Eleventh Circuit finally broke its silence – issuing its long-anticipated ruling in Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, holding that websites are not covered as places of public accommodation under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“Title III” or “ADA”).  In doing so, the Court reversed and vacated the district court’s decision finding that defendant, Winn-Dixie Stores, violated Title III by failing to maintain a website that is accessible to individuals, who are blind or have low vision.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week on our special podcast series, Employers and the New Administration, employers await action from two agencies: the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Guest attorney Bob O’Hara discusses the regulatory actions employers should anticipate. Attorney David Garland leads the conversation.

Employers and the New Administration is a special podcast series from Employment Law This Week®, with analysis of the Biden administration’s first 100 days ...