212.627.8100
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination including the Americans with Disabilities Act, updated its COVID-19 guidelines. The EEOC gave employers the right to test workers for COVID-19 before they enter the workplace. Have questions about your rights in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic? Please see…
Author Archives: Levy Ratner
Workplace Safety for Essential Workers: OSHA’s COVID-19 Risk Guide
Are you an “essential” worker? If so, is your workplace providing you with the protection that you need during the COVID-19 outbreak? Since the start of the pandemic, thousands of employees have filed workplace safety complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has published guidance that groups workplaces into four categories of…
New Jersey Unemployment System Update Eases COVID-19 Claims Process
In the past four weeks, more than 718,000 New Jersey workers have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment according to the NJ Department of Labor. This historic number has overwhelmed NJ’s unemployment system and resulted in delays in processing applications. In response, NJ has implemented several changes to streamline the application process for the…
NYC Immigrant Workers Receive Aid from City Relief Program
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would be partnering with the Open Society Foundation to create the New York City COVID-19 Immigrant Emergency Relief program. The Emergency Relief program will provide $20 million of relief directly to immigrant families in the form of a one-time, emergency relief payment similar to the stimulus…
NY Attorney General Sues U.S. DOL over COVID-19 Regulations
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule narrowing workers’ access to paid sick leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Note: This LR What You Need to Know Now deals with the NY Attorney General’s legal challenge to the federal rule,…
What Paid Time Options Can I Use for COVID-19 Quarantine in New York?
Workers in New York State can receive paid leave if they are under an order of quarantine or isolation from the state or a local health department and cannot work remotely. New York State law allows workers to combine different types of paid time off to be used while under quarantine/isolation. There is no waiting…
How NY Self-Employed Workers Can Apply for Unemployment Benefits
Due to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment benefits have been extended to workers who have not traditionally been covered by unemployment insurance like the self-employed, gig workers, and independent contractors. Federal law now allows workers, who do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits, are not receiving paid leave, and cannot work…
NJ Expands Leave and Disability Benefits During COVID-19
Under a new law effective March 25, 2020, workers in New Jersey are entitled to expanded family leave, earned sick leave and temporary disability insurance benefits during a state of emergency, such as that declared by Governor Murphy for COVID-19. Here are the details: Earned Sick and Safe Time Leave An employee accrues one hour…
App-Based Workers Can Receive Unemployment Benefits During COVID-19
On March 26, 2020, New York’s highest court issued an important decision that opens the door for New York “gig” and app-based workers to be classified as employees who enjoy the worker protections that independent contractors lack. The delivery app Postmates is required to contribute to the state unemployment insurance fund for Postmates couriers who…
Exploring COVID-19 Health Insurance Options After Job Loss
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, been laid off or had their hours reduced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most have lost their job-based health coverage as a result. If this has happened to you, there are options for obtaining other coverage for you and your family. If you have no income or it’s…