On June 26, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 157 (“EO 157”), which details rules for the reopening of indoor retail, recreational and entertainment businesses (including casinos) and individual instruction at gyms. Initially, EO 157 also permitted indoor dining (with restrictions) to begin on July 2, 2020, but Gov. Murphy reversed that decision three days later via Executive Order 158 (“EO 158”) and has said that indoor dining in New Jersey will continue to be prohibited indefinitely. Gov. Murphy based this reversal on the “spikes in ...
As featured on #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we finally have some guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and big employment law changes in Virginia go into effect.
July 1, 2020 represents a milestone for Virginia employers. As we previously reported, nearly two dozen new employment laws take effect, including the Virginia Values Act. In addition, all of Virginia enters Phase Three of Governor Ralph Northam’s Safer at Home plan to reopen the economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Changes to Virginia Employment Law
Employers with Virginia operations should take note of the following important changes:
- Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Military Status, and Pregnancy: The Virginia Values Act amended the Virginia Human Rights Act
Featured in #WorkforceWednesday: Attorney Denise Dadika examines the unique challenges health care employers face as they ramp business back up and reopen for both patients and employees.
Update: On August 3, 2020, Gov. Murphy signed Executive Order 173 retightening restrictions on permissible indoor gatherings to 25% of a room’s capacity, with a maximum of 25 individuals. The new limit does not apply to weddings, funerals, memorial services and religious and political activities protected under the first amendment. These gatherings will remain to 25% capacity and 100 maximum attendance.
On June 22, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 156 (“EO 156”), which, effective immediately, increases the permissible number of attendees at ...
Last week, Illinois moved in to “Phase 4” of the state’s five-stage Restore Illinois Plan (the “Plan”). As part of this transition, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity issued updated, industry-specific Phase 4 Guidelines (the “Guidelines”).
From an employer compliance standpoint, the transition from Phase 3 to 4 is not a radical change. Rather, the transition primarily involves loosened restrictions for already open businesses, and the reopening of additional industries (such as indoor recreation facilities like bowling alleys and ...
Featured in #WorkforceWednesday: As businesses across the United States open up, workers may increasingly turn to unions to help support their safety. Employers should take steps to properly prepare for this resurgence in union activity. Attorney RyAnn Hooper explains more.
On June 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit dismissed a wage and hour class action on the grounds that once the class representative plaintiff settled his individual claims and no longer had any financial stake in the litigation’s outcome, the entire litigation was moot.
In Brady v. AutoZone Stores, Inc. and Autozoners, LLC, Plaintiff Michael Brady brought a class action suit against AutoZone Stores, Inc. and Autozoners LLC for allegedly failing to provide its nonexempt employees with meal breaks in accordance with Washington state law. After several years of litigation, Brady settled ...
For the last two weeks, Texas is continuing to break records for daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, on June 23, 2020 Texas had the highest daily number of COVID-19 cases (5,489) since the pandemic began, and for twelve consecutive days had record-high hospitalizations. Also on Wednesday, June 23rd, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said 97% of the intensive care unit beds in Houston are filled. Governor Abbott acknowledged this week that there is a massive outbreak of COVID-19 across the state of Texas, and ...
Employers’ engagement and use of various types of vendors has expanded recently, to include vendors who assist with office re-entry screening and contact tracing as employees return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The service agreements that are negotiated and executed for this purpose should sufficiently address data privacy and security considerations related to employee personally identifiable information (PII). This is necessary for any service provider or vendor agreement. In the absence of a federal law governing data security and breach notification of ...
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