On Friday, October 15, 2021, Italy rolled out one of the world’s strictest COVID-19 requirements. In an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to move beyond the pandemic, Italy required the country’s entire workforce, including both public and private sector employees, to possess a government-issued health pass (i.e., the Green Pass).
Continue reading “BREAKING: Green Pass Required for All Employees in Italy”
2021 continues the trend of increasing regulation of the workplace by state and local governments. Although it is not possible to discuss all state and local laws, this update provides an overview of recent and upcoming legislative developments to help you and your organization stay compliant. (Please note that developments specifically related to minimum wage rates and COVID-19 are not included.)
Continue reading “State & Local Employment Law Developments: Q3 2021”
As we have previously discussed, Luxembourg has developed solutions with its neighboring nations to ease the economic burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers. Specifically, Luxembourg authorities worked with their counterparts in Belgium, France and Germany to develop measures to minimize workers’ tax and social security concerns and implications when cross-border workers telework.
Continue reading “Luxembourg Again Extends Cross-Border COVID-19-Related Agreements with Belgium”
As jurisdictions across the world grapple with the effects of the more infectious delta variant, many governments either have taken or are considering more restrictive measures to reduce infection rates and community spread of COVID-19. As we have previously discussed, France is a country that has taken a tougher stance on encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations and has even required employees in certain sectors and industries, in accordance with Article 12, I, of the Law n°2021-1040, to receive a vaccination. The French government also recently introduced the Pass Sanitaire (i.e., health pass). Now, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) has provided guidance on employers’ obligations regarding collecting health pass information and COVID-19 vaccination data.
A divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the January 2020 preliminary injunction against enforcement of Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), and upheld portions of the law that prohibited employers from making arbitration agreements a condition of employment. As a result of this decision, the Ninth Circuit has resurrected California Labor Code § 432.6, that bars businesses from requiring workers to arbitrate job-related claims. However, the court invalidated portions of AB 51 imposing civil and criminal penalties for mandating arbitration in violation of § 432.6.
As we previously highlighted, on May 29, 2020, the Province of Ontario enacted Ontario Regulation 228/20, Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL Regulation), under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The IDEL Regulation retroactively reclassified any temporary layoff that occurred during the COVID-19 Period as an infectious disease emergency leave (IDEL). On June 4, 2021, the Ontario government amended the IDEL Regulation to define the “COVID-19 Period” as the period between March 1, 2020, and September 25, 2021. As a result of this extension, nonunion employees with reduced or eliminated work hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic were considered not to be on layoff under the ESA, but instead continue on deemed IDEL.
Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers and continues to affect employers and employees, especially in light of the delta variant, on September 16, 2021, the Ontario government extended the temporary relief measures from the termination and severance provisions of the ESA until January 1, 2022. As such, the temporary measures found in the IDEL Regulation have been amended to define the “COVID-19 Period” as the period beginning on March 1, 2020 and ending on January 1, 2022.
We summarized the Ontario temporary relief measures in our prior blog post and have highlighted and updated our analysis here.