Blogs

Business and Financial Services

New Protections against Workplace Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Pregnancy Now in Effect in Virginia

In April 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law nearly two dozen bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly that provide significant new rights for Virginia employees, including legislation that expanded the scope of the ban on workplace discrimination, as discussed below, which became effective on July 1, 2020. We have published additional updates on other new Virginia employment laws that combat wage theft, prohibit non-compete covenants for low-wage workers, and provide…

July 21, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Law Now Prohibits Non-Compete Restrictions for Low-Wage Employees

Virginia has always viewed restrictive covenants, including non-compete agreements, skeptically as unfair restraints on trade. However, employers have widely relied on well-drafted restrictions on competition as a means of protecting against employee misuse of client relationships and opportunities to start a competing business, for example. Now, however, with Governor Ralph Northam’s signature on House Bill 330 and Senate Bill 480 , Virginia employers will not be able to enter, enforce, or…

July 21, 2020

Employment Law

Virginia Phase 3 Reopening: Will a COVID-19 Liability Waiver Protect Your Business from Legal Risks?

Virginia governor Ralph Northam announced that Phase 3 of the Forward Virginia reopening plan will get underway on July 1, 2020, lifting more of the restrictions on businesses and public activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Commonwealth’s move toward expanded reopening options, many Virginia businesses, in particular retail and services entities, have become…

July 6, 2020

Employment Law

Summer Camps Closed Due to COVID-19? DOL Issues Additional Guidance for FFCRA Leave Eligibility

With the arrival of summer the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued some additional guidance last week to clarify when an employee may take leave under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) to care for the employee’s child based on the closure of a summer camp, summer enrichment program, or other summer program for…

July 1, 2020

Employment Law

Employer Antibody Testing for COVID-19 Violates the ADA, According to New EEOC Guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission posted an update on June 17, 2020 to its COVID-19 / ADA technical assistance for employers (A.7.) to address whether the ADA permits employers to require COVID-19 antibody or serologic testing before allowing employees to reenter the workplace. The ADA does not permit serologic testing, according to the EEOC. The…

June 19, 2020

Employment Law

Supreme Court Extends Anti-Discrimination Protections to Gay and Transgender Employees

In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled today in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that gay and transgender employees are protected by federal anti-discrimination laws. Thus, as of June 15, 2020, public and private employers are prohibited from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) employees on the basis of…

June 15, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Joins Lawsuit to Block Implementation of New Title IX Final Rule

Eighteen states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, filed suit on June 4, 2020, in federal district court in the District of Columbia, seeking to block the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) from implementing its recently published final rule (New Title IX Rule or Rule) effectuating sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal law which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded K-12 and postsecondary education. The State of New York has filed a separate law…

June 15, 2020

Employment Law

DOL Final Rule: Employers Can Pay Bonuses and Premium Pay Under FLSA Fluctuating Workweek Compensation

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule clarifying that employers are permitted to pay bonuses or other incentive-based pay to salaried, nonexempt employees whose hours vary from week to week. Such bonus or premium pay, on top of the fixed salary paid to an employee, are compatible…

June 9, 2020

Employment Law

Can Virginia Employees Still Get Paid Leave Under the FFCRA After Businesses Reopen and Schools Close?

As Virginia businesses are beginning to reopen for work under Governor Ralph Northam’s Order easing many COVID-19-related business restrictions, most public and private school systems in the Commonwealth are beginning to wind down the school year and close for summer break. The dichotomy of openings and closings raises a key question for many workers with…

June 3, 2020

Employment Law

Virginia Adds a “Ban the Box” Law for Pot Possession

Ban-the-box restrictions have increased in popularity among U.S. states and localities during the last decade. “Ban the box” refers to laws that variously prohibit or restrict employers from requiring applicants for employment to divulge their criminal history through a check box on an application for employment. The theory behind “ban the box” statutes is that…

May 26, 2020