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You are here: Home / Archives for topics / Compliance
Employment Law Update

COVID-19, discrimination, DACA, and immigration developments

July 3, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio EEOC says no to COVID-19 antibody testing: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently (6/17/20) updated its COVID-19 guidance to indicate that employers should not be requiring employees to submit to antibody testing. Here is the verbatim Q&A (found at EEOC Guidance): Question: (A.7.): CDC said in its Interim Guidelines that antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace.” In light of this CDC guidance, under the ADA may an employer require antibody testing before permitting employees to re-enter the workplace? Answer: No. An antibody test constitutes a medical examination under the ADA. In light of CDC’s Interim Guidelines that antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace,” an antibody test at this time… . . . read more

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Compliance

How to create a COVID-19 exposure control plan

June 19, 2020 by

For as long as COVID-19 remains a threat, businesses—both essential and nonessential—won’t be allowed to re-open and remain open unless they implement a plan to control workplace infection risks. The challenges posed by COVID-19 are unprecedented and unique and you probably won’t find any great templates in your current policy folders and binders. As a result, you’ll need to build your plan from the ground up. Here’s a step-by-step strategy and Model COVID-19 Exposure Control Plan containing the necessary elements that you can use to accomplish that objective. The Exposure Control Plan & Why You Need It An exposure control plan is a set of measures to protect workers, clients, contractors, visitors and other people at your workplace against exposure to COVID-19 infection and ensure compliance with your obligations under… . . . read more

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Tool: Model COVID-19 Exposure Control Plan

June 19, 2020 by

Regulators have made it clear that workplaces must implement written plans to control COVID-19 exposure risks at the site. Here’s a Model Plan template your office can adapt that provides for the necessary protections.

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Employment Law Update

Supreme Court ruling extends workplace protections to LGBTQ workers

June 18, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND TRANSGENDER STATUS NOW ARE PROTECTED CLASSES NATIONALLY: Federal civil rights law protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees, the United States Supreme Court announced June 15 in a landmark ruling. The historic decision will extend workplace anti-discrimination and anti-harassment protections to about 8 million LGBTQ workers nationwide. The ruling also vindicates a position long taken by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It is a defeat, however, for the Trump administration, which opposed the EEOC. President Trump instructed the Department of Justice to argue that the provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on sex did not extend to claims of gender identity and sexual orientation bias. This led to the odd circumstance where two parts of the same government argued for opposite… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Top 10 questions an employer should ask before returning employees to work

May 26, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio As various states and municipalities across the country lift shutdowns and begin easing COVID restrictions, employers are faced with complex questions about safely bringing their employees back to the workplace. We’ve compiled the top 10 questions every employer should consider before returning employees to work.    How do we implement proper infection prevention measures? First, and perhaps foremost, employers should design, implement, communicate, and begin to monitor basic infection prevention measures as they return employees to onsite work. Although a complex task, OSHA and CDC have both published step-by-step instructions for employers on how to implement appropriate infection prevention measures. OSHA has published an employer Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, which outlines the specific steps it believes all employers should take to reduce workers’ risk of exposure… . . . read more

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EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Employment law changing on the fly in response to COVID-19

April 22, 2020 by

By Mike O’Brien bio COVID-19 has ushered in a variety of new, and fast-evolving employment law changes, from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT:  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes a tax credit for employers that retain employees during the COVID-19 crisis.  The credit generally provides relief to employers of all sizes in the form of a refundable payroll tax credit of 50% of all “qualified wages” paid (up to $10,000 per employee) during the COVID-19 crisis if (i) operations were fully or partially suspended or subject to a shut-down order; or (ii) gross receipts declined more than 50% compared to the same quarter in the prior year.  Note that for… . . . read more

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RISK MANAGEMENT

4 bad financial habits that may increase your policy premiums and your malpractice risk

October 4, 2019 by

Ineffective billing and collections practices affect more than the bottom line. They ultimately may determine what the firm has to…


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TELECOMMUTING

8 pitfalls of letting law firm employees work from home

September 20, 2019 by

Contrary to what you might have heard in HR circles, refusing to let employees work from home will not make your law firm a dinosaur that nobody will ever want to work for. In fact, it will put you in the same position as the nearly 65 percent of…


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BLOG

Immigration alert, social media, salary threshold, minimum wage, trafficking and more

September 19, 2019 by

By Mike O’Brien  bio
The Social Security Administration (SSA) just announced its plan to mail a second set of…


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BLOG

Salary threshold increases getting review

September 13, 2019 by

By Mike O’Brien  bio
On Aug. 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor sent its proposed salary threshold rule change to…


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