Rojgar Job News

You can’t escape the panic spreading through mass and social media regarding the 2020 Wuhan Novel Coronavirus, a virus that has resulted in fatalities in China and infected thousands worldwide. Symptoms mimic that of influenza (fever, cough), but can include difficulty breathing, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death in severe cases. Despite the panic, there are only a handful of confirmed cases in the U.S., but this has done little to quell paranoia. With fear of the bug’s spread, many employers are bracing themselves the possibility of employee absences, either due to illness or fear of contagion in congested workplaces. Employers and human resources professionals can immunize themselves against some risk by implementing steps in advance. Familiarize yourself with state and local paid sick leave laws. Many U.S. states and municipalities now require that employers provide paid time off to employees to address their own illnesses or that of their family members. If you have...

At last count, ten counties in Northern California have issued Health Orders dictating the mandatory shut down of all but “Essential Businesses”.  The Counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Marin, San Mateo, San Francisco, Sonoma, Monterey, and San Benito.  These Orders are substantially similar and, as drafted, specify numerous exceptions to permit Essential Businesses to continue to operate.  Counties, in particular Santa Clara, have been issuing some FAQs to try to help the community understand what the Orders mean.  For simplicity sake, this blog will cite the Santa Clara Order and FAQs.  While other counties are all very similar, FAQs and interpretation may start to vary over time so be sure to check your specific county Order and FAQs. If you have operations in an area subject to one of these orders and are contemplating staying open, there are several important things to note. Am I an Essential Business? Look closely at t...

Since the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) became law last week (amazing how long ago that feels, right?), the US Department of Labor (DOL) has been publishing and updating guidance concerning the public health emergency paid sick leave and emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave required under the law.  (See our prior posts here and here).  As of March 29, another 21 questions-and-answers have been added to the DOL’s Q&A webpage.  The newly-added questions and answers appear at Questions 38 through 59. The most recent guidance addresses some of the most significant questions arising under the new law, including as follows. The guidance addresses the exemption from the FFCRA’s paid leave requirements for employers with fewer than 50 employees. Under the guidance, these employers are exempt from the requirement to provide paid sick leave or expanded FMLA leave, in both cases, due to school or place of care closures or child care p...

Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley, issued a new Health Order on April 8, 2020. [https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/DiseaseInformation/novel-coronavirus/Documents/order-04-08-20-ppe-disclosure.pdf] This order requires every entity and individual in the county to submit an inventory of qualifying quantities of certain Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) and Ventilators by April 15. The County has provided an online site to report relevant inventories. https://www.research.net/r/sccPublicHealthPPESurvey The term “Entity” is broadly defined to cover virtually all businesses, non-profit organizations, government entities and even households resident in the county. The only exceptions are for certain medical facilities which already have ongoing obligations to report inventories to the County. In other words, if you are doing business in Santa Clara County and you have any PPE or Ventilators there, this order applies to you. The Order lists 21 different c...

Providing much needed assistance to employees’ who were blindsided by COVID-19 and who were incapable of making health care coverage elections with COVID-19 in mind, the IRS on May 12, 2020, provided temporary relief that allows employers, during 2020, to expand the permissible reasons for employees to make prospective mid-year election changes to their health care coverage, and contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSA) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAP), beyond what is currently permitted under the law. Additionally, in separate guidance, beginning in the 2021, the IRS increased the maximum health FSA year-end carryover amount from $500 to $550 relating to any unused health FSA balance remaining at the end of a plan year. Background Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) permits employers to offer a “cafeteria plan” to provide employees with the ability to pay their employee contributions for health care coverage, and contribute to h...