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As the necessity for teleworking continues due to COVID-19, employers and employees are still grappling with the changes brought about by a significant increase in teleworking. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently published guidance regarding timekeeping while teleworking. While acknowledging employers’ legal obligations for recordkeeping and reporting, the DOL also places…
Author Archives: Levy Ratner
NY’s Unemployment Benefits Rise by $300 Weekly for Eligible Workers
FEMA recently approved New York State’s application for the Lost Wages Assistance Program, enabling the state to pay an additional $300 per week on top of ongoing unemployment benefits, for qualified individuals. The $300 supplemental assistance replaces the $600 per week that many unemployed New Yorkers received under the CARES Act, until the supplement expired…
New York Wins Against DOL to Expand Paid Leave During COVID-19
On August 2, 2020, a Manhattan federal judge ruled in favor of the State of New York by striking down the Trump administration’s standard for determining which employees are eligible for relief under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“Act”). The Department of Labor’s interpretation of the Act created excessive loopholes allowing employers to deny…
You May Be Eligible for Programs Extending Unemployment Benefits
If you received the maximum 26 weeks of regular unemployment insurance, you may be eligible for two other programs to extend your unemployment benefits for a total of up to 59 weeks. Those who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance, but are receiving benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, are not eligible…
Furloughed Employees: Your Rights Returning to Work Under FFCRA
In earlier LR What You Need to Know Now postings here and here, we discussed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Under this Act, eligible employees of covered employers have access to extended sick leave and family and medical leave benefits if they are personally affected or need to take care of a family member…
Supreme Court Denies Review of Salary History Defense in Pay Equity
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to consider a case that would have addressed the validity of a common defense used by employers to justify pay discrepancies between male and female employees in the same job. In Yovino v. Rizo, a math consultant sued her employer under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) after she learned…
Camp Still Closed for the Summer? Consider Leave Options under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act as Department of Labor Issues Updated Guidelines
As many summer camps and daycare facilities announce their continued closures during summer months, working parents and guardians may find relief from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act). The Act extends family and medical leave benefits for eligible employees who are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or…
Supreme Court Grants DACA Recipients Temporary Reprieve
The Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, giving DACA participants some reprieve from the threat of deportation. The DACA program, first implemented by the Obama administration in 2012, granted renewable permits to study and remain in the United States for some undocumented immigrants who…
New EEOC Guidelines for Returning to Work
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), recently published multiple updated guidelines in anticipation of stay-at-home orders being lifted and employees returning to the workplace. The EEOC’s update specifically addresses the rights of employees to request accommodations and how employers…
Levy Ratner Observes Juneteenth in Solidarity with BLM
Today, Friday, June 19, 2020, Levy Ratner is closed in recognition of the Juneteenth holiday, as a symbol of support for and solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing protests. We do this with the understanding that 155 years after the official end of explicit, government-sanctioned slavery was finally announced in Texas – over…