May 2020

The White House took another step last week aimed at easing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump signed an Executive Order seeking “to combat the economic consequences of COVID-19” by giving “businesses, especially small businesses, the confidence they need to re-open.”  The Order directs agencies to address the economic impact of the pandemic by eliminating regulations, providing reopening guidance to businesses, and recognizing that regulatory compliance may be difficult under the current circumstances.
Continue Reading President Trump Signs Executive Order Seeking “To Combat The Economic Consequences Of COVID-19

Q. What is the standard for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor under Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation law?

A. Following a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, businesses now face a tougher standard under the state’s unemployment compensation law for demonstrating that a worker is an independent contractor and not an employee. In A Special Touch v. Commonwealth of PA, the Court held that, to claim the exemption from tax liability for a self-employed worker, the employer must show that the individual in question is involved in an independent trade or business “in actuality,” rather than “having the mere ability to be so involved.”
Continue Reading Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Independent Contractor Standard For Purposes of Unemployment Compensation Taxes

Q. What is the new deadline to file an EEO-1 report?

A. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a press release on May 7, 2020 that it will postpone its annual collection of EEO-1 demographic data until 2021, in light of the circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak. This comes at a time when many employers were already waiting for a determination as to when the EEOC would begin collecting reports from 2019.
Continue Reading EEOC Delays EEO-1 Data Reporting Deadline to 2021 Due to COVID-19

It is hard to overstate the significance of the employment law changes going into effect as of July 1, 2020. As Virginia employers presently consider how to return to work following an unprecedented global pandemic, they will soon meet the added challenge of a radically different legal landscape governing employment matters. The affected areas of Virginia employment law are broad, covering wage and hour laws, employee misclassification, LGBTQ rights, employment thresholds for coverage under anti-discrimination laws, and expanded whistleblower protections. Whereas, Virginia was once considered a State where employee rights were extremely narrow, effective July 1, it will have some of the broadest protections available for employees to assert their rights. The following is a summary of the more significant laws going into effect.
Continue Reading Virginia Employers Brace for Seismic Changes in Employment Laws Effective July 1, 2020