Workforce Bulletin

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), which we detailed in a previous Advisory, requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees (“covered employers”) to provide paid sick leave (“Emergency Paid Sick Leave”) and family leave (“Public Health Emergency Leave”) for certain COVID-19 related absences and includes a tax credit for employers for the cost of the paid leave.

As covered employers prepare to meet these requirements, questions have arisen related to the payroll tax relief associated with these payments.  This update addresses ...

On March 24, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued initial guidance (“Guidance”) on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or the “Act”), which we detailed in a previous Advisory.  In short, the Act requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees (“covered employers”) to provide paid sick and family leave for certain COVID-19 related absences and includes a tax credit for employers for the cost of the paid leave.

The Guidance comprises (i)  a Fact Sheet for Employers, (ii) a Fact Sheet ...

[Updated on April 17, 2020]

As temporary layoffs and furloughs become more prevalent during the COVID-19 outbreak, employers have been asking whether they may allow employees to take hardship distributions under their Section 401(k) plans for expenses and losses resulting from COVID-19.

Under the IRS hardship distribution final regulations, employers were permitted to add a new safe harbor hardship category that would allow an employee to take a hardship withdrawal to cover expenses and losses (including loss of income) incurred by the employee on account of a disaster declared ...

The closure orders issued by federal and state government authorities across the United States have resulted in the reduction and loss of income for a significant percentage of the U.S. workforce. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Coronavirus Act”), effective April 1, 2020, providing relief for certain eligible families, employers and businesses. Further legislation is on the horizon. Meanwhile, under existing law, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) permits employers to provide ...

The Connecticut Department of Labor issued guidance entitled “Frequently Asked Questions About Coronavirus (COVID-19) For Workers and Employers” (last updated on March 20, 2020 (the “Guidance”).  The Guidance provides no new legal requirements or amendments to existing laws, but instead, analyzes issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic under existing laws in the areas of unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, wage and hour law and the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (“CTFMLA”).

Unemployment Insurance Benefits for Shut Downs and Quarantines

The ...

Many employers are looking for ways to assist employees directly impacted by COVID-19 and employees on temporary lay-off or furlough who are exhausting their available paid-time-off (PTO). One option employers often ask about is the feasibility of adopting a leave sharing or leave donation program that would permit employees to donate vacation, sick leave or PTO to employees who need the additional time because they have been impacted by COVID-19. Properly structured, leave donated to a co-worker is a viable option, which will not be taxable to the donor but rather taxable to the co-worker when the leave is actually taken.

Employers generally may offer three different types of leave donation programs: (1) a major disaster leave sharing program (2) leave donations for employees on medical leave; and (3) leave donation to an employer-designated public charity or private foundation. Employees on leave for their own COVID-19 medical treatment could be beneficiaries of a medical leave sharing program; if an employee is not on medical leave, however, donating PTO to the employees would require a major disaster leave sharing program.

Major Disaster Leave Sharing. The current IRS guidance on “major disaster leave sharing programs” can be found under IRS Notice 2006-59. Such a program requires that the President declare a major disaster under Section 401(a) of the Stafford Act (or, as to federal employees only, a major disaster or emergency affecting a sufficient number of federal employees).On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be an “emergency” under Section 501(b) of the Stafford Act. He did not, however, formally declare it a Section 401(a) “disaster,” but merely stated that he would not preclude the possibility that the COVID-19 outbreak would also rise to a Section 401(a) “disaster.” To fully utilize a major disaster leave sharing program, IRS guidance in the form of an announcement, notice or otherwise, would be welcome.

The Illinois “Stay at Home” Order took effect at 5:00 p.m. on March 21, 2020, and will last through April 7 (full text here).  This post will briefly summarize the Order’s application to Illinois businesses, and then provide a one-stop-shop index pointing you to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. (“EBG”) and governmental resources to help you comply with existing and COVID-19-specific federal, state, and local regulations.

What Does “Stay at Home” Mean for My Business?

The Order requires “all individuals currently living within the State of Illinois” to “stay at home ...

On Monday March 23, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at preventing hoarding and price gouging.  Attorney General William H. Barr indicated that the order is authorized under the Defense Protection Act, which allows the United States to compel private industry to assist in meeting national defense needs in response to national emergencies.

The new executive order empowers the Health and Human Services Secretary to designate supplies as “critical.”  Hoarding – accumulating quantities beyond those reasonable to satisfy personal or business needs ...

Department of State Suspends Routine Visa Services

On March 20, 2020, in response to significant worldwide challenges related to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the Department of State announced that routine visa services will be temporarily suspended at all U.S. embassies and consulates. Further, embassies and consulates will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments. Please note that services will continue to be available to U.S. citizens, and applicants with an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow the ...

Joining California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, as well as multiple counties and cities, on March 23, 2020, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-21 (COVID-19) (“Order”), ordering that all Michigan residents “shelter in place” in response to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), effective 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and continuing through April 13, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

Among other things, the Order prohibits an employer from requiring its workers to leave their homes, unless ...