Legal Update HeaderOn March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the Act) into law. The Act requires employers to provide paid leave for some employees related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, among other measures. The leave provisions of the Act take effect no later than 15 days after it is signed by the president.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave

The Act requires two weeks of paid sick leave for government workers and employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees. Leave must be made available to workers who are symptomatic or are under an order or advice to quarantine or self-isolate, who have to care for a family member under such an order or advice, or who have a child whose school or child care provider or facility has closed or is unavailable due to the coronavirus.

This interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will update this interim guidance as needed and as additional information becomes available.

CDC is working across the Department of Health and Human Services and across the U.S. government in the public health response to COVID-19. Much is unknown about how the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads. Current knowledge is largely based on what is known about similar coronaviruses.

HR Insights Blog HeaderAs the number of U.S. COVID-19 cases grows daily, businesses across the country are developing and implementing plans to keep their employees and customers healthy. Some of those plans include creative measures designed to prevent the pandemic from affecting their organizations, which are outlined below.

Practicing Social Distancing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that all Americans practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This involves maintaining a 6-foot distance between employees at all times. In order to accomplish that, employers can:

Benefits of cyber liability headerWhen cyberattacks like data breaches and hacks occur, they can result in devastating damage. Businesses have to deal with business disruptions, lost revenue, and litigation. It is important to remember that no organization is immune to the impact of cybercrime. As a result, cyber liability insurance has become an essential component of any risk management program. Cyber liability insurance policies are tailored to meet your companies specific needs and can offer a number of important benefits, including the following:

No matter what industry you’re in, chances are your organization will, at some point, rely on the help of a third party to fulfill certain business needs. Regardless of who you work with, business arrangements with contractors and vendors can open you up to a number of risks—risks that need to be accounted for through insurance.

However, when accounting for risks related to contracted work, securing your own insurance is not always enough. It’s critical that your partners are covered as well. This is particularly important when you consider that, following an incident involving a contractor or vendor, your business could be the one held liable for any damages that occur. To protect against this sort of risk, many organizations turn to certificates of insurance (COIs).

On March 25, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule regarding respirable crystalline silica. Under this rule, employers are subject to new standards for protecting workers. The rule became effective on June 23, 2016.

However, employers in the construction industry had until Sept. 23, 2017, to comply with the rule. Employers in the maritime and general industries had until June 23, 2018, to comply.

On May 12, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule that requires certain establishments to report information from their injury and illness records to OSHA electronically.

The final rule also solidified anti-retaliation protections for employees. The 2016 rule did not create additional recordkeeping obligations, but instead requires some entities to electronically submit already-required records to OSHA. These requirements became effective on Jan. 1, 2017, but the initial compliance deadlines were phased in through 2019.

HR Insights Blog HeaderOn Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule that updates the salary thresholds that some individuals must meet in order to qualify for a minimum wage and overtime exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The final rule becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020. The final rule affects the exemptions for executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees, highly compensated employees (HCEs), employees in the motion picture indutry and individuals who work in various U.S. territories.