What Employers Need to Know About the Monkeypox Virus [Webinar Recording]

On September 6, 2022, Kara M. MacielEric J. Conn and Ashley D. Mitchell presented a webinar regarding What Employers Need to Know About the Monkeypox Virus.

On July 23rd, the World Health Organization declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By late July, the U.S. surpassed 10,000 total cases, and the Biden Administration declared it a public health emergency. While the Monkeypox Virus is less transmissible than COVID-19 and rarely fatal in its current form, there are still workplace safety and health considerations employers will have to address.

Participants in this webinar learned: Continue reading

What Employers Need To Know About the Latest Public Health Crisis – The Monkeypox Virus

By Eric J. Conn and Ashley D. Mitchell

After the last couple of years living with COVID-19, we were desperately hoping that we would not have to be talking, thinking or writing about the Monkeypox Virus (“MPV”) as a workplace safety and health issue.  And while Monkeypox does NOT appear to be a COVID-19 redux, we have been getting enough questions from our clients that it now seems unavoidable that we have to dig into this.  Alas, here is our first take on Monkeypox – what is it, what are the symptoms and modes of transmission, how is it similar to and different from COVID-19, and what should employers be thinking about and doing in connection with this latest plague.

The Monkeypox Virus (MPV):

Monkeypox is a zoonotic diseases, which means it is caused by a virus that is passed between animals & people.  MPV was first detected in 1958 in a colony of research monkeys in Central and West Africa, and the first human case of Monkeypox was recorded in 1970.  The virus that causes Monkeypox is in the same family as the virus that causes smallpox, and they involve similar, but less severe symptoms in the case of MPV.

The current Monkeypox outbreak is unique in that prior to 2022, Continue reading

DC Walks Back Certain Aspects of its Pending Ban on Non-Compete Agreements

DC employers may be aware of the District of Columbia’s impending ban on non-compete agreements, which originally was scheduled to become effective on October 1, 2021 and which was set to become one of the most explicit bans on non-compete agreements in the nation.

"upset,At,You,For,Breaching,The,Non-compete?,Of,Course,Not."The initial iteration of the law, titled the “District of Columbia Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the “Act”), prohibited employers from requiring employees who perform work in Washington D.C. (or a prospective employee whom the employer reasonably anticipated would perform work in Washington, DC), from signing any agreement that included a non-compete provision.  The Act also made it unlawful for employers to have any workplace policy prohibiting employees from (i) being employed by another person; (ii) performing work or providing services for pay for another person; or (iii) operating their own business.  In other words, the Act rendered virtually all non-compete provisions unenforceable and forbade employers from instituting workplace policies, such as anti-moonlighting rules, that limit employees’ ability to work for other people or start their own business.

However, along with the effective date of the Act being delayed several times (first to April 1, 2022 and now to October 1, 2022), the D.C. Council recently passed the Non-Compete Clarification Amendment Act of 2022 (the “Clarification Amendment Act”), which tempers certain aspects of the law.

First, the Clarification Amendment Act explains that Continue reading

Both Employees and Employers Benefit from Revisions to Washington, D.C. Paid Leave Law

Just two years after the enactment of Universal Paid Family Leave Act, it appears that thousands of private-sector employees in Washington, D.C. will receive a substantial increase in the annual amount of paid leave to which they are entitled. At the same time, D.C. employers will receive a significant tax cut to the amount they are required to pay to fund this program.Retro,Styled,Alarm,Clock,Covered,Pile,Of,Money,Isolated,On

The Universal Paid Family Leave Act, which took effect in July 2020, allows eligible D.C. employees to take up to (i) eight weeks for parental leave; (ii) six weeks for family medical leave; and (iii) six weeks for personal medical leave.  This program, which is funded through employer-paid taxes, has cost less than previously forecast and now has excess funds. 

As a result, in a letter sent last week to Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D.C.’s Acting Chief Financial Officer Fitzroy Lee stated that by as early as July 1, 2022, employees will now receive (i) twelve weeks for parental leave; (ii) twelve weeks for family medical leave; and (iii) twelve weeks for personal medical leave. In other words, eligible employees will now be able to take double the amount of paid leave for family medical leave and personal medical leave, and 66% more parental leave, than they currently receive. Eligible employees also will now be entitled to a new benefit of two weeks of paid prenatal leave, which was not previously available.

Employees will not be the sole beneficiary to the changes to the Universal Paid Family Leave Act.  Because of the excess funds currently available, the private employers who pay for this leave program will Continue reading

[Webinar] Wage and Hour Issues During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On Wednesday, November 11th at 1:00 PM ET, join Kara M. Maciel and Jordan B. Schwartz for a webinar regarding Wage and Hour Issues During the COVID-19 Pandemic.LE Capture

While many companies are dealing with the more noticeable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, wage and hour issues continue to be a concern as they could result in significant financial liability.  As a result, it is important to be aware of these new pandemic-related wage and hour issues, including:

  • Tricky “off the clock” and other wage payment issues for teleworking employees;
  • Whether teleworking employees need to be paid for “commuting” time;
  • Whether on-site employees should be paid for health screening time and other safety protocols; and
  • Exempt/non-exempt issues resulting from employees performing multiple tasks on emergency bases.

At the same time, there are other important wage and hour issues that have changed significantly in 2020, including the new overtime rule, new classification guidance for independent contractors, and new joint employer guidance under the FLSA.  

In this webinar, participants will learn about: Continue reading