Workforce Bulletin

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the global workplace and international employer-employee relations.  Over the past several months, many countries have enacted nationwide orders requiring billions of people to stay at home in an effort to reduce transmission of COVID-19.  While some countries remain locked down, others, have recently initiated progressive measures to re-open businesses and return employees to the workplace, with varying degrees of success:

• Germany: On April 27 Germany began allowing shops as large as 8,600 square ...

Many U.S. businesses are starting to prepare for phased returns to the workplace. Employers’ planning should consider the impact that various return-to-work approaches may have on their employee benefits and compensation programs and, in addition, how some innovative employee benefits and compensation programs may enhance workplace morale and productivity by assisting employees transitioning back to the workplace. The following summarizes some of the important benefits and compensation issues to keep in mind as employees return-to-work.

Plan Service Crediting ...

As we previously reported, on Monday, April 27, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Phase One of his much anticipated plan to reopen Texas while minimizing the spread of COVID-19.   In response to this plan to reopen, at limited capacity, retail establishments, restaurants, movies, shopping malls, libraries and museums, starting on May 1, 2020, many Texas workers are weighing the option of returning to work and earning a paycheck against the potential risks of exposure to COVID-19 and forfeiting unemployment benefits.

On Thursday, April 30, 2020 Governor Abbot addressed this issue by announcing that the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) has issued Guidance to unemployment benefits claimants concerning their continued eligibility should they choose not to return to work.  While reinforcing that each claim is assessed on a case-by-case basis, the TWC Guidance outlines specific circumstances under which workers will still be granted unemployment benefits, even if suitable work is available.

Per the Guidance, a worker who refuses to return to work due to the following COVD-19 related reasons may retain unemployment benefit eligibility:

• High Risk—If a worker is at “high risk.” defined by the TWC as individuals 65 years and older, as they are at higher risk for becoming very sick from COVID-19;
• Household Member at High Risk—If a worker’s household member is at high risk. This includes household members 65 years or older;
• Diagnosed with COVID-19—If a worker has been diagnosed with COVID-19, having tested positive for the virus by a source that is authorized by the State of Texas, and they have yet to recover;
• Household Member Diagnosed with COVID-19—If a worker has a household family member with COVID-19, having tested positive for the virus by a source that is authorized by the State of Texas, the family member yet to recover, and 14 days have not yet passed;
• Quarantined—If a worker is currently in 14-day quarantine due to close contact exposure to COVID-19; or
• Childcare Needs—If a worker’s child’s school or daycare is closed, and there are no available childcare alternatives.

Effective April 17, 2020, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) significantly revised its recently issued Safe Workplace Rules for Essential Employers (the “Rules”).  Specifically, the Rules have been updated to include a requirement that all employees of essential businesses wear masks while working.  The DECD’s original rules did not contain any provision regarding masks.  Now, the DECD has significantly modified the mask requirements as follows:

• Employees of essential businesses are required to wear a “mask or other cloth ...

On April 29, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council simultaneously passed two ordinances in response to COVID-19 that could potentially have long lasting and far reaching impacts on applicable businesses: the Right of Recall Ordinance and the Worker Retention Ordinance. The Mayor has until May 11, 2020, to act on both of the ordinances. These ordinances, pending approval of the Mayor, will be effective 31 days from their publication date.

Right to Recall Ordinance:

While the true impact of the ordinance remains to be seen, the City Council’s claimed purpose behind the Right of Recall ...

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Superintendent of the State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan (who also acts as the State Director of Emergency Management) issued orders this week lifting some closures and reiterating or clarifying others, as follows.

Administrative Order 2020-10

On April 27, 2020, in Administrative Order 2020-10 (“A.O. 10”) , Col. Callahan clarified and amended Executive Order 107 (which we wrote about here).  A.O. 10, which became effective immediately, permits the reopening of certain business operations now deemed “essential retail business,” ...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to limit its spread caused a sudden and dramatic shutdown of large sections of the U.S. economy.  Governmental shelter in place orders requiring non-essential businesses to temporarily close forced untold numbers of businesses to furlough or terminate most, and in many cases all, of their employees with little or no warning. For larger employers, mass layoffs and terminations of operations such as these, would normally trigger notification requirements under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act (as ...

Epstein Becker Green’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice is proud to present a new "Benefits Guidance in the Time of COVID-19" webinar series. You can access these courses on your own schedule. Keep up to date with a range of benefits and compensation considerations, or obtain an overview of an important topic impacting your company.

Each webinar of this limited series will be uploaded to the firm’s Coronavirus Resource Center as well as the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice page. If you would like a list of the final episodes ...

On Monday, April 27, 2020, Governor Gregory Abbott announced Phase One of his much anticipated plan to reopen Texas, while minimizing the spread of COVID-19.  Governor Abbott accompanied his announcement by issuing Texas Helping Texans: The Governor’s Report to Open Texas (“Report”), and Executive Order No. GA-18 (“EO GA-18” or “Order”), pursuant to which all retail stores, restaurants[1], movie theaters, malls, museums and libraries are allowed to reopen on Friday, May 1, 2020, with a 25% occupancy limitation.  Within shopping malls and museums, all interactive ...

Consumer complaints regarding alleged price gouging have been increasing as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Generally, price gouging occurs when there unreasonable increase the price of a consumer good (or service) during a public emergency. Although we are facing a national emergency, except for a March 23, 2020, executive order issued by President Trump prohibiting hoarding and price gouging of certain critical supplies, there is no federal price gouging law. Although there are proposal pending in Congress to more broadly prohibit price gouging, currently, the issue is ...