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Question & Answer Employer Guide: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19

As government authorities look to implement business reopening measures, employers are now planning to move employees back into the workplace as state and local stay-at-home orders expire and other COVID-19 business restrictions expire or are modified. What are the various considerations employers must keep in mind when reopening their physical work locations?

This Question and Answer Guide describes a number of COVID-19 employment and return-to-work considerations. Because the COVID-19 pandemic is a fluid situation and highly dependent on jurisdiction- and sector-specific considerations, we anticipate that additional guidance will be coming from the federal, state and local governments as plans to allow businesses to open are developed in the coming days and weeks.

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OFCCP Recent Developments and Guidance on COVID-19

In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many federal contractors are questioning to what extent the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will continue to operate and whether recently passed legislation includes any relief for federal contractors. While the OFCCP has made it clear that it remains “virtually” operational, it will not be “business as usual.”

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

What’s New in the Latest OFCCP Scheduling Letters?

The Office of Management and Budget recently approved proposed revisions to the Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing, the Compliance Check Letter, and the Section 503 Focused Review Letter, in addition to introducing the VEVRAA Focused Review Letter. The revisions include only a few substantive changes that impact government contractor disclosures.

OMB recently approved the revised scheduling letters, but fortunately did not adopt all of OFCCP’s proposed changes, including proposed changes to request compensation information during focused reviews. While the new Compliance Check Letter remains substantively unchanged, a few differences exist among and between the other scheduling letters.

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New Jersey Delays Amendments to the New Jersey WARN Act and Provides Relief to Employers Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

New Jersey employers facing difficult decisions given business challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have been hoping for some relief from the amendments to New Jersey’s Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (NJ WARN Act), set to take effect on July 19, 2020. Simply put, those amendments will lower the bar such that the NJ WARN Act will be triggered by reductions in force that impact 50 or more employees (either full-time or part-time) at or reporting to an establishment (a single location or group of locations within the state) during any 30-day period. In addition, the amendments require employers who lay off employees on or after July 19, 2020, to give employees 90 days’ notice, rather than the 60 days previously required by state law and by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

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Employer COVID-19 Responses May Trigger Additional State and Local Wage Payment, Notice and Other Obligations

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local “stay at home” orders and the resulting financial and business impact, many employers have implemented or are considering a range of workforce planning alternatives to workforce reductions, including moving to a primarily remote workforce, temporary reductions to employee hours or pay (or both), and temporary periods of continued employment without any work or pay (commonly referred to as furloughs). This article addresses some of the frequently asked questions regarding state and local wage payment and notice issues that may arise in connection with such measures.

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

New Jersey Law Prohibits COVID-19-Related Employment Discrimination

On March 20, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a new law meant to protect employees who take COVID-19-related leave. New Jersey Assembly Bill 3848 (the Act) provides protections and remedies for such employees and outlines the complaint process for aggrieved individuals. The Act is in direct response to COVID-19 and is meant to protect employees who need to take time off from work because they are or might be infected with COVID-19. The Act was effective immediately.
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