SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), employees may be entitled to up to two weeks of paid sick leave and up to 12 weeks of expanded family and medical leave, of which 10 weeks are paid to care for a child based on the closure of the child’s school or place of care. When the spread of COVID-19 accelerated in March, most schools and daycares closed, creating problems for many parents who relied on these facilities to care for their children while the parents worked. As the summer months approached, a new question arose: whether parents would be entitled to paid leave under the FFCRA in the event a child’s summer camp, summer enrichment program or other summer activity closed — or never opened — for COVID-19 related reasons. Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides insight in answering this question.

Firing an employee for being gay (i.e. sexual orientation) or transgender (i.e. gender identity) is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court said in a ruling issued June 15, 2020.

The Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance goes into effect on July 1, 2020, and has the potential to cause headaches for some organizations that have employees working in Chicago. Here’s a look at what employers in seven key industries - building services, health care, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, and warehouse services - need to know about the ordinance.