Episodes
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
This legal alert was published on January 22nd, 2021 by Micah Dickie in Atlanta.
President Joe Biden has signed several Executive Orders in the first two days of his presidency, and one is an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety that directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase enforcement of existing agency standards and investigate whether a new standard for COVID-19 mitigation is needed. Given that President Biden has nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be the next Secretary of Labor – the first union member to fill this role in nearly 50 years and soon to be in charge of the agency that oversees OSHA – employers should be aware of the key provisions of this executive order ahead of an increase in inspections. Here is what employers need to know.
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Legal Alert: DOL’s New Independent Contractor Rule Could Be DOA
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
This legal alert was published on January 7th, 2021 by Randall Coffey in Kansas City, Benjamin Ebbink in Sacramento, Richard Meneghello in Portland, and John Polson in Irvine.
The Labor Department finalized a new rule today that aims to make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors – but the rule faces a very uncertain future given that the Biden administration will take the reins of the federal government before it is scheduled to take effect and the incoming administration has signaled its opposition to this change. Businesses that use independent contractors to carry out critical work roles – especially gig economy companies and those using gig-economy-like strategies for components of their workforce – have long awaited this rule in the hopes that it would lend certainty to modern business models and reduce litigation brought by workers claiming to be misclassified as employees. But celebrations need to be put on hold for now, as we expect President-elect Biden to at least temporarily stall implementation past its planned March 8 effective date while worker advocacy groups and state attorneys general line up to file legal challenges in the hopes of permanently killing the rule.
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Vaccine Employee Incentives
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
In this podcast, Fisher Phillips partner Kevin Troutman returns to chat with Travis Vance about employee incentive programs related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The co-leader of our firm’s Vaccine Subcommittee spends some time discussing employee wellness program and what employers can and cannot do to provide incentives for employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
The vast majority of employers are not considering mandating their employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine, instead choosing to encourage the shot – but a significant number of businesses remain confused and uncertain on whether and how to incentivize their workers to get inoculated. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Fisher Phillips, with 700 respondents providing their thoughts between January 26-29. Fisher Phillips partner Kevin Troutman provides a quick review of these survey results and also sheds light on the thinking of other businesses when it comes to this specific challenge.