Blogs

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

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

Employment Law

Employees in Virginia are Heading Back to the Workplace. What Can Employers Ask or Do?

On May 8, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued an Executive Order implementing Phase One of his plan to ease many of the current COVID-19-related restrictions on businesses and public activities for most jurisdictions in the Commonwealth, effective as of May 15, 2020. But not in Northern Virginia, where the region has yet to achieve…

May 19, 2020

Employment Law

Virginia Enacts Dramatic and Far-Reaching Employment Law Protections

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law nearly two dozen bills that provide significant new rights for Virginia employees, including legal protections to combat wage theft, prohibit non-compete covenants for low-wage workers, and expand the scope of the ban on workplace discrimination. Also signed into law by Governor Northam were enhanced employee whistleblower protections…

April 27, 2020

Business and Financial Services

What Can Employers Ask and Do About Their Employee’s Health During the Coronavirus Crisis? Answers from the EEOC

EEOC Update, May 7, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has had an undeniably dramatic and devastating impact on public health in the U.S. It also has had dire consequences for the U.S. economy and businesses across the country. Many nonessential businesses have been forced to close altogether. Those that have been permitted, or required, to continue providing essential services, including many retailers, have struggled to find ways to keep workers from getting sick from coronavirus, and keep their…

April 14, 2020