The Stoel Rives Labor & Employment Law Blog
Hot off the proverbial presses: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) announced today that fully vaccinated individuals can resume normal life activities without wearing masks or socially distancing. The CDC’s guidance is available here. Although it is certainly good news, the CDC’s guidance comes with several cautionary notes:
For the past year, Washington employers have been required to accommodate those employees characterized by the CDC as being at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. Required accommodations can include allowing those employees to take extended leaves of absence if alternative work assignments, telework, remote work locations, or social distancing measures are…
On March 19, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Senate Bill 95 (“SB 95”) which entitles most California employees to a new bank of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. The law will go into effect on March 29, 2021.
California’s prior law entitling workers to COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave expired on December 31, 2020…
On November 13, 2020, after concluding that the previously proposed two-week “pause” did not go far enough, Governor Kate Brown announced a two-week statewide “freeze” aimed at slowing the rapid spread of COVID-19. The statewide freeze starts on Wednesday, November 18 and runs through December 2, 2020, meaning that the freeze will be in place…
The public health crisis caused by COVID-19 has caused lawmakers up and down California to consider new and previously unheard of ways to protect employees. While most of these methods have involved protections for existing employees, many jurisdictions are considering ways to protect employees who have lost work for reasons related to COVID-19. One of…
Oregon OSHA has released its “Near Final Draft” of a COVID-19 Temporary Standard. This proposed new regulation sets forth a number of new rules for how an employer must operate in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and respond to any positive cases among its employees. The regulation applies to employers and building operators.…
Today the United States Supreme Court answered the question of whether Title VII, the federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination “on the basis of sex,” protects LGBT employees with a resounding “Yes.” In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that: “The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender…
On Wednesday, June 3, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Brady v. Autozone, No. 19-35122, slip op. at 1 (9th Cir. June 3, 2020), https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/06/03/19-35122.pdf, that class claims become moot when “a class representative voluntarily settles only his individual claims without indicating any financial stake in the unresolved class claims.”
Michael…
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires private companies with fewer than 500 employees, along with most public employers regardless of size, to post a notice summarizing the benefits available under the new law and directs the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a model notice. The Department issued its model notice yesterday.…
Today, the IRS issued Notice 2020-15 clarifying that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) may provide benefits associated with testing and treatment of COVID-19 (commonly referred to as coronavirus) without application of a deductible or cost-sharing. Doing so will not impact a plan’s status as a HDHP or a…
