SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

The Illinois Supreme Court resolved a critical question in Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) cases with an answer that threatens to devastate companies and drive settlement values in pending cases through the roof: a separate claim under the statute accrues each time a private entity scans or transmits an individual’s biometric information.

We are finally moving past the plethora of pandemic-era employment laws that riddled this blog over the past two years. However, not all will be quiet in 2023, as the breadth of pending U.S. Supreme Court cases and issues agencies are reviewing is wide and has the potential to disrupt several industries. This recap and forecast highlights a few of those topics.

New EEOC guidance advises employers to ensure that any hiring tools based on algorithms or artificial intelligence (AI) do not negatively impact applicants with disabilities. This obligation includes offering reasonable accommodations to applicants in hiring practices that incorporate AI or algorithmic decision-making.

As in 2020, employment law in 2021 was dominated by COVID-19 as employers grappled with whether to voluntarily extend employee benefits provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, issues with working remotely, and returning to work. The new year begins with uncertainty as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide the fate of several employer vaccine mandates in just a few days. The pandemic’s challenges are sure to keep employers busy in 2022. Here are our picks for the highlights of last year and a look at what’s to come in the new year.

Missouri

Other than a new state minimum wage ($11.15 per hour), 2022 is starting off quietly in Missouri. However, last year brought two major developments affecting employers that are summarized below. The COVID-19 Liability Shield is exactly as it sounds, providing protections for employers against suits by individuals who claim they were exposed to COVID-19. Similarly, the Domestic Violence Leave Law provides job-protected leave for individuals who need to address issues related to domestic violence.

In a year marked by federal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies managed to finalize some non-pandemic legal developments in 2020: the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule and joint employer test both went into effect, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned a handful of Obama-era precedents. With Joe Biden’s election as president in November 2020, the coming four years will likely bring some reversal of the impact of the Trump administration, particularly on the DOL and NLRB. The 2019-2020 Supreme Court term was relatively busy for employment, including a major development for Title VII. Of course, much of the energy and resources of the federal agencies overseeing employment laws were spent on providing guidance to employers related to COVID-19 issues. Below is a summary of major federal employment law headlines from last year and a look at what employers can expect in 2021.

In a year dominated by the pandemic, 2021 updates to Missouri and Illinois law are overshadowed by COVID-19’s impact and related federal employment law developments. Illinois’ treatment of July as the new January adds to the relatively quiet start to 2021 while the state adapts to its new employment laws that went into effect July 1, 2020.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, represents a second-round stimulus related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the CAA includes certain virus-related provisions, including stimulus checks issued to some individuals, the act allowed the mandatory leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to expire on December 31, 2020. As a result, employees are no longer guaranteed paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave under the FFCRA unless their employers voluntarily agree to provide it. As an incentive for employers to voluntarily offer FFCRA leave, the act extends the availability of tax credits to employers related to employees who take qualifying leave under the FFCRA through March 31, 2021.   

On April 1, 2020, the Department of Labor released a temporary rule issuing regulations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) effective immediately through December 31, 2020. Employers who have been wrestling with compliance with the FFCRA’s paid leave provisions will recognize much of the material in these regulations from the DOL’s informal guidance or from the CARES Act’s amendments to the FFCRA*. The regulations also include some helpful clarification:

The Department of Labor (DOL) on March 24, 2020, released its first guidance explaining aspects of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL released fact sheets aimed at both employees and employers as well as a Q&A document and promised more guidance to come. The guidance discusses how employers and employees can “take advantage of the protections and relief” offered by the FFCRA’s Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Expanded Leave Act.