SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

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.

Phase I of reopening St. Louis City and St. Louis County began May 18. Both St. Louis City and County have general and business-specific operating standards for certain businesses to reopen or continue operating, while others will remain closed for now. St. Louis City Order No. 8 and Phase I Reopening Standards and Guidance Established by Order No. 8 are available here. St. Louis County’s COVID-19 Safe Operating Protocols are available here.

This post was updated on April 4, 2020.

The CARES Act tweaks the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and establishes Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation to supplement state unemployment. Employers should take note of these provisions.

President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020. This extensive 880-page stimulus legislation is packed full of a variety of incentives for employers and their workers, which employers will want to consider as they decide how to manage their workforce in the coming days, weeks and even months. One important piece of the legislation is the Paycheck Protection Program discussed here. In this blog, we tackle the portions of the CARES Act that amend the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”), which take effect on April 1, 2020 and were previously covered  here. We also discuss the enhanced unemployment benefits made available to workers by the CARES Act.

President Trump has signed legislation extending to certain employees paid sick time related to the coronavirus and paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). 

As covered in a previous post, the U.S. House of Representatives last weekend passed a previous version of the bill. In the days since, the House revised the legislation to update several of the provisions. The Senate passed the legislation on March 18 with a 90-8 vote. The President has now signed the legislation.

Congress has passed legislation on extending employees' paid leave related to the coronavirus and expanding the FMLA, sending the bill to President Trump for his signature. 

As covered in a previous post, the U.S. House of Representatives last weekend passed a previous version of the bill. In the days since, the House had revised the legislation to update several of the provisions. The Senate passed the legislation on March 18 on a 90-8 vote.

Over the Weekend: The U.S. House of Representatives (with President Trump’s “full support”) passed legislation that would:  (1) Extend paid leave related to the coronavirus, (2) Expand the FMLA to provide paid leave to employees for coronavirus-related reasons, and (3) Expand the availability of unemployment funds. This legislation still requires U.S. Senate approval.

In a surprising move, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the Final Rule, changing the claims procedure for ERISA- governed disability plans, will become effective on April 1, 2018. The DOL previously delayed the Jan. 1, 2018 effective date to allow additional time for comments and data submissions and to give the DOL time to amend or rescind the Final Rule. In a press statement released on Jan. 5, 2018, the DOL stated that while it received numerous complaints about the New Rule, only a few of them provided substantive criticism. 

A recent Seventh Circuit case held that additional leave beyond what is otherwise required by leave entitlement laws is not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This holding provides important guidance for employers. Continue reading for the details of this case and our recommended best practices in light of its holding.

Taking a page from the fiduciary rule playbook, today the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a 90-day delay of the implementation of the amended ERISA claims procedure rule for employer-sponsored disability plans (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule was scheduled to take effect for ERISA disability benefits claims on January 1, 2018. The proposed delay would postpone the Final Rule’s application to April 1, 2018, giving the DOL time to decide whether to amend, modify or rescind the Final Rule.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 ended a yearlong legal challenge to the enforceability of a forum selection clause in an ERISA-governed benefit plan, when the court denied the plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari. The case is Clause v. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 719 (Jan. 17, 2017).