Labor & Employment Law Update

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Emergency Order 28, the Safer at Home Order, for failing to follow emergency rulemaking procedures in a lengthy 161-page opinion – effective immediately.  So, what does this mean for Wisconsin employers?

Local Orders Still Apply

Local officials may enact their own stay-at-home orders – and indeed, some already have.  Dane and Kenosha counties each issued orders adopting the majority of Emergency Order 28’s provisions, effective immediately and continuing to May 26, 2020.  Brown County issued a similar order in effect ...

On April 29, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Treasury Department issued guidance extending certain timeframes related to employee benefit plans due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The agencies acknowledge that plan sponsors, participants and beneficiaries may have difficulty meeting the standard timeframes due to the national emergency and the extensions are intended to help maintain group health plan coverage.

Relief for Participants and Beneficiaries

A joint final rule issued by the DOL and Treasury provides that all group health plans, disability plans, other ...

During the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen multiple shifts in views by the public and employees.  Initially, the issue was what to do if an employee requested a face mask. 

However, businesses are now facing different questions:

1. Can you require employees to wear a face mask? 
2. Can you require customers or members of the public to wear a face mask when coming into your business?

What most do not realize is that both of these questions raise potential ADA issues.

EMPLOYEES – The short answer is, YES.  A business can require its employees to wear a face mask or covering and other personal ...

Recent changes to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) require all Illinois employers to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees by December 31, 2020, and once per year thereafter – and tasked the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) with creating a model sexual harassment training program employers could use to meet that requirement. After several delays, the IDHR released its model sexual harassment prevention training program along with an FAQ. Now that we have the IDHR’s model training, all Illinois employers should begin planning ...

While some states are beginning to loosen their stay at home orders, others continue to only be open for essential business. On April 10^th we reported on the relaxation of the CDC guidance for safety practices for essential workers. This included advice from the CDC that critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue to work, or return to work, following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented by the employer including pre-screening employee’s temperatures prior to starting work.

We ...

A couple of weeks ago, we examined two general factors that the Treasury will be examining to determine PPP loan forgiveness, namely whether at least 75% of the borrowed funds have been spent on “payroll costs” and whether employers maintained the same headcount and salary levels for full-time equivalent (FTE) employees.

On Sunday May 3^rd, the Treasury issued additional guidance regarding the impact of layoffs on the headcount calculation for purposes of loan forgiveness. Specifically, FAQ #40 asked whether a borrower’s PPP loan forgiveness amount would be reduced if ...

In an update to our previous blog on Illinois extending its stay-at-home order through May 30, 2020, Governor Pritzker’s latest Executive Order on COVID-19 (Executive Order No. 2020-32), issued April 30, 2020, mandates that all businesses that have employees physically reporting to a work-site must post the guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) regarding workplace safety during the COVID-19 emergency. 

The guidance is found on the IDPH website, and informs employees that their employer should:

• Make sure that employees can maintain at least 6 feet of ...

With the constantly shifting state and local stay-at-home orders and the potential relaxing of these orders on the horizon, the question for employers still remains: What do we do if an employee has COVID-19? 

Once an employer receives a report that an employee has tested positive for or is presumed to have COVID-19, the employer should do the following:

• Instruct the infected employee to stay home for the longer of the period of time recommended by his or her health care provider or the applicable health department or until 1) at least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since resolution of fever ...

On Monday, April 27, 2020, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced “Phase One” of the “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan” to gradually reopen the economic and social activity in the state, beginning on May 4, 2020.  As part of Phase One, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued an Order relaxing restrictions on businesses and social activities. 

The relaxed restrictions are:

• Retail sales businesses can re-open, so long as the number of individuals in the retail location is limited as follows:
  • if the location is less than 10,000 square feet, then 25% or ...

While most employers do not take issue with CDC and OSHA recommendations related to hand washing, sanitizing, personal protective equipment (PPE), or even employee screening – the  social distancing aspect of these guidelines often provoke the greatest resistance from manufacturing employers:  “We’re just not set up to operate that way.”

Over the last few weeks, we have all seen the headlines regarding Smithfield, JBS, and Tyson.  The meat processing plants have become alleged hot beds for COVID-19, leading to plant closures.  Last week, Smithfield workers sued the ...