Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  Mobile technologies, including contact tracing and screening apps, will help safely bring employees back to work. However, there are a range of employment law and privacy concerns to consider before implementing these technologies. Attorneys Adam S. Forman and Karen Mandelbaum tell us more. You can also read more in a recent Law360 article.

Video: YouTube, Vimeo, MP4, Instagram.

On June 9, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam announced that Northern Virginia and Richmond will join the rest of the state in entering Phase Two on June 12, 2020, taking the next step to reopening the region.  Governor Northam’s Executive Order 65 further eased temporary restrictions throughout most of the Commonwealth of Virginia, initiating the “Safer at Home: Phase Two” strategy on June 5, 2020.

As we previously wrote, the Northern Virginia Region and Richmond entered Phase One on May 29, 2020.  In Phase Two, most of the restrictions remain fairly similar to Phase One reopening ...

Along with many European countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected employers and employees in Luxembourg.  On March 17, 2020, the Government of Luxembourg issued a State of Emergency until June 25, 2020 and implemented several measures and guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Luxembourg’s population of approximately 625,000, reportedly has 4,040 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 110 COVID-19 fatalities and 3,901 individuals who have recovered from the coronavirus.

Similar to other European jurisdictions, Luxembourg provides employers and employees with ...

As we have previously reported, since June 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “DFML”) has proposed and adopted several “technical changes” and clarifications to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (the “PFML”). Our analysis of these proposals and revisions may be found here, here, and here. As part of the ongoing “technical changes,” the DFML recently published new proposed amendments (“New Proposed Amendments”) to the regulations governing the PFML (the “Regulations”). The New Proposed Amendments ...

Citing the continuing need to protect the New Jersey residents from COVID-19 (even as the state ramps up its reopening), on June 4, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 151 (“EO 151”) , extending the state’s Public Health Emergency by thirty days, i.e., until July 4, 2020. Pursuant to EO 151, all Executive Orders and actions taken by any Executive Branch departments and agencies (including Administrative Orders) that were adopted in whole or in part based on the current Public Health Emergency will remain in full force and effect. A declared public health ...

Child care centers, day camps, some organized sports, outdoor dining and indoor non-essential retail are the latest business and activities that soon can start reopening (with limitations) pursuant to two Executive Orders signed last week by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Executive Order 149 – Child Care Centers, Day Camps, Organized Sports

On May 29, 2020, Gov. Murphy signed Executive Order 149 (“EO 149”) , to allow the re-opening (with restrictions and guidelines) of all child care centers and other child care facilities, day camps and the operation of non-contact ...

Much ink has been spilled in recent weeks about how some recipients of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) relief obtained their loans through mistakes or false pretenses. Now banks are coming under fire for their lending practices in connection with this hastily prepared and implemented program, which left them grappling with how to properly issue loans in the face of procedural and substantive gaps in the law. Many lenders tried to fill these gaps by supplementing the PPP application to address practical concerns not covered in the law. Two recent cases, however, demonstrate ...

On Friday, June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the “Act”), which relaxes various rules under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s (the “CARES Act”) $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP” or “Program”) managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The PPP provides forgivable loans to small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Act is the first major statutory overhaul of the PPP, which has been ...

As we previously reported, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government invoked special provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (the “DMA”) to implement a series of orders under the DMA (“Orders”) imposing a nationwide lockdown. The Indian national lockdown went into effect on March 25, 2020 and was extended several times, until May 31, 2020.

The initial lockdown Orders included strict directives for employers. The employment provisions of the orders (the “Employment Provisions”) prohibited employers from terminating any employees or ...

Introduction

On April 30, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont released a four-stage plan to reopen business in Connecticut when the following conditions were met: (1) sustained 14-day decline in hospitalizations; (2) adequate testing capacity; (3) contact tracing system in place; and (4) sufficient personal protection equipment (“PPE”).  Governor Lamont identified May 20 as the tentative reopening date.

Meanwhile, on May 9, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (“DECD”) issued detailed rules for the business sectors that are permitted to reopen as ...