Workforce Bulletin

On August 13, 2020, 11 years after the enactment of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the “FW Act”), Australian employers received guidance from the High Court regarding how to count the entitlement to “10 days” of personal leave per year of employment, as required under Section 96 of the FW Act.

The High Court determined that employees’ leave entitlement is equivalent to the average of employees’ “ordinary hours” of work over the course of a two-week period (i.e., 1/26^th of the ordinary hours of work in a year) and not 10 “working days” of paid leave per year. This ...

As we have previously highlighted, many countries have introduced creative new approaches to address the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As employees continue to work from home and employers reconsider whether employees must return to the workplace at all, some jurisdictions are implementing measures to accommodate the needs and interests of both employers and employees in the ever-changing and evolving employment environment.  Luxembourg is yet another example of a country that has sought to develop solutions with its neighboring nations to ease the economic ...

On September 8, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released updates to its What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws Technical Assistance Questions and Answers (“FAQs”), addressing questions largely focused on return-to-work questions and concerns such as permissible and impermissible inquiries, reasonable accommodation and confidentiality of employee health information.

Notable additions to the FAQs include clarification regarding the types of questions employers may ask as employees ...

Part 5 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.

By now, those who have been following this series know the basics. You’ve formulated (or are in the process of formulating) a “return to work” plan, which includes, among other things, implementing policies and guidelines consistent with CDC recommendations (wear masks), as well as other best practices that most of us learned, or should have learned, by the time we were potty-trained (wash your hands), if not by the time we were in elementary school (no touching).

But once businesses ...

As has been true for so many issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, growing concerns about safely voting in the 2020 elections are beginning to permeate the workplace, prompting employers nationwide to create or revise policies to address employee apprehensions about voting amidst a pandemic. Time to Vote, a self-described “business-led, nonpartisan coalition that aims to increase voter participation in the U.S. elections,” founded by numerous major companies, reports that, as of August 27, 2020, more than 700 companies, representing about two million workers, have ...

Following up on our recent post about a business interruption insurance decision by a Washington D.C. court, a federal judge in Missouri ruled last month, in Studio 417, Inc., et al. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Comp., No. 20-cv-03127-SRB, that businesses can sue their insurance carrier for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19.

Plaintiffs, owners of a hair salon and various restaurants (the “Insureds”) purchased an all risks policy from Cincinnati Insurance Company (the “Insurer”). As a result of losses sustained due to COVID-19, the Insureds sought business ...

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday:  Employers are reevaluating plans after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversals, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) offers clarification on wage and hour issues related to the pandemic.

Video: YouTube, Vimeo, MP4, Instagram.

New York attorneys could soon have to complete cybersecurity training courses to satisfy their continuing legal education (“CLE”) requirement. The House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) has approved a report proposing that NYSBA’s Executive Committee recommend to the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board that the biennial CLE requirement be amended to require one credit on cybersecurity. The Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession (the “Committee”), which submitted the report, recognized the mounting ...

Part 4 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.

We have said this before, but we will say it again: in the workplace, there should be no touching – ever. The COVID-19 pandemic just provides another reason to follow the advice we give in the anti-harassment context, that employees should maintain distance and not touch others.

No Touching, Ever – Not Even For Handshakes

In almost a long forgotten time, pre-COVID-19, it was a natural tendency for employees to use handshakes, handshakes-plus, and hugs as a way to build rapport and ...

Part 3 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.

Whether physically in the office or not, regularly washing your hands should already be a routine practice. However, this innate rule is especially important, and recommended by the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”), to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to maintain safe, healthy and respectful workplaces.

Wash Your Hands…All the Time

Everyone should already be washing his or her hands – all the time. This is a cardinal hygiene rule that everyone learns in elementary school ...