Employers generally must withhold income taxes on behalf of employees based on where the employee works. Typically this determination is simplified by the location of the employer’s offices. The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding stay-at-home orders have altered the working situations for most Americans. Only time will tell what things will look like moving forward. Employers
Pandemic is time to revisit website and other tech accessibility
Have you ever made online purchases as frequently as you have in recent months? Have you ever had so many employees working remotely? The pandemic-related surge in consumer reliance on online purchases, with a workforce serving those customers remotely, makes website accessibility for disabled persons an increasingly high-profile issue.
Continue Reading Pandemic is time to revisit website and other tech accessibility
Time to review COBRA compliance
COBRA compliance is an area that, for many employers, is on auto-pilot. Many employers rely on outside consultants to administer COBRA and need not put much focus on COBRA time limits for electing and paying for coverage. One of the many ripples from the COVID-19 pandemic is a need to check on your method for COBRA compliance. The economic crunch from the pandemic has resulted in layoffs, furloughs, and terminations, many of which were COBRA-triggering events.
Continue Reading Time to review COBRA compliance
New OSHA Guidance: Employers must decide if an employee’s COVID-19 is work-related
If an employee tests positive for or is diagnosed with COVID-19, must that be recorded as a work-related illness on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA )records? OSHA says COVID-19 is a work-related illness if the virus is contracted at work. That can be very difficult to determine. Employers should not presume a COVID-19 event is work-related unless there are clear facts to support that conclusion.
Continue Reading New OSHA Guidance: Employers must decide if an employee’s COVID-19 is work-related
COVID-19 return to work considerations: Navigating the reopening process
Many states are releasing their plans to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home orders. There are many important considerations for employers to take into account while planning their return to work. Porter Wright’s Labor & Employment Department developed a checklist of issues to consider for a safe and productive return to work. You can find that checklist here.
Continue Reading COVID-19 return to work considerations: Navigating the reopening process
Think twice before hitting “record”
It is simple enough: press record and you can easily share your internal video conference call, re-watch it later, or forget it and move on. You move on until you receive a discovery request or a subpoena for information if the company is sued. Now, your internal video call is discoverable and may be seen
Supreme Court of Ohio tolls civil deadlines during COVID-19 emergency period
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches are working together to clarify requirements for civil litigants and alleviate mounting pressure on Ohio’s courts. My colleague Sean Klammer explains in this Porter Wright Law Alert.
Navigating employment issues, help for small businesses and a delay in the tax deadline
There have been a number of helpful blogs over the past few days from our colleagues at Porter Wright aimed at helping businesses navigate the COVID-19 outbreak.
Navigating Employment Issues in the Wake of COVID-19 webinar
We have all felt the tremendous impacts to our workplaces and daily lives following the COVID-19 outbreak We’ve also
COVID-19 and OSHA: Commonly asked questions
Below are answers to three common questions about COVID-19 and employer obligations under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA):
Is there any OSHA standard or regulation that covers workplace exposure to COVID-19?
No. OSHA standard applies specifically to workplace exposure to COVID-19. However, the OSHA General Duty Clause requires all employers to provide
NLRB shift on two important issues for union companies
Continuing a trend towards reversal of case precedent, the NLRB has issued two decisions important to companies with union contracts. In Valley Hospital Medical Center, the Board considered whether an employer has the right to stop making dues deductions from employee paychecks after a collective bargaining agreement with the union expires. Dues deductions in collective bargaining agreements are common. Unions bargain aggressively for them because these provisions require the employer to automatically deduct union dues from employee paychecks and submit them directly to the union.
Continue Reading NLRB shift on two important issues for union companies