COVID-19

Subscribe to COVID-19

On July 11, 2023, in Thai v. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), a three-justice panel of the California First District Appellate Court overturned a trial court’s dismissal of a claim by an employee that the employer violated California law when it failed to reimburse employees for work-from-home expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Plaintiff and a putative class sought penalties under California Labor Code Section 2802, which requires employers to reimburse their employees for “all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties,” including that they sought the cost of equipment purchased, when they were ordered to work from home in 2020.Continue Reading California Appeals Court Rules Employer Must Reimburse Employees for Work-From-Home Expenses During COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, California and several local jurisdictions implemented COVID-19 sick leave laws. Many of these laws are now expiring. California’s state COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave expired on December 31, 2022 and Governor Newsom announced that the COVID-19 state of emergency will end on February 28, 2023.Continue Reading City of Los Angeles COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Is Ending

What Is COVID-19 Hazard Pay?

The COVID-19 pandemic motivated many employers to provide extra wages, often referred to as “hazard pay,” to employees who continued to work throughout the pandemic, despite the threats created by the virus, particularly pre-vaccine. Hazard pay is provided both to incentivize employees to work in potentially hazardous conditions and to compensate those individuals for the additional risks they assume.Continue Reading COVID-19 Hazard Pay and Overtime Violations

On October 18, 2021, Plaintiff Ysa Santana Reynoso (Reynoso), a former employee of pork processor Hatfield Quality Meats, Inc. (Hatfield), filed a class action lawsuit before a state court in Pennsylvania against Hatfield seeking unpaid wages under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA) for time spent undergoing mandatory COVID-19 screenings.
Continue Reading Employee Asserts Claims of Uncompensated COVID-19 Screening Practice

Although the Department of Labor (DOL) has yet to issue the regulations regarding the FFCRA, this week, the DOL issued guidance for employers who are subject to the paid leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The Wage & Hour Division’s website, COVID-19 and the American Workplace, contains links to various…

On June 3, 2021, California’s Occupational Safety & Healthy Standards Board approved significant revisions to the initial COVID-19-related Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) originally implemented on November 19, 2020 (see Perkins Coie’s previous blog post here). The amended regulations can be found here and will likely become effective on June 15, 2021, pending review by…

Chicago recently enacted an ordinance granting employees rights in connection with getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Employers should be aware of these key provisions:

  • An employer may not take adverse action against an employee who gets a vaccine during working hours.
  • Regardless of whether an employer mandates vaccination, it cannot mandate that employees receive the vaccine

…

On March 19, 2021, Governor Newsom approved SB 95, which requires COVID-19 supplemental sick leave through September 30, 2021 and creates new COVID-19 vaccine–related paid sick leave obligations for covered employers. The new law, which adds Sections 248.2 and 248.3 to California’s Labor Code, is effective immediately, but the employer obligation to provide COVID-19…