Labor & Employment Archives

September 04, 2020 Alison M. Kryzer

IRS Issues Guidance On Employees’ Social Security Tax Deferral

On August 28, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-65. Effective September 1, 2020 employers are permitted to suspend withholding and paying to the IRS eligible employees’ Social Security payroll taxes. The payroll tax suspension period runs from September 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 and only applies to employees whose wages are less than $4,000 for a biweekly pay period and to salaried workers earning less than $104,000 per year. Employers would then collect additional amounts from workers’ paychecks from More +

May 08, 2020 Dunlap Seeger

EEOC Issues New Return to Work Guidance

On Thursday, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued additional guidance for how businesses should accommodate workers with medical conditions during the pandemic. The guidance applies when an employer knows a returning employee has an underlying medical condition that places him or her at risk, but the employee has not asked for accommodation. The EEOC makes clear these employees cannot simply be barred from work due to their known medical condition which make people more susceptible to becoming severely ill More +

May 07, 2020 Dunlap Seeger

EEOC Announces Delay in Collection of EEO-1 Information

As a result of the current public health emergency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on May 7 a delay until March 2021 of the collection of EEO-1 Component 1 information. EEO-1 Component 1 information asks for the number of employees who work for a covered business sorted by job category, gender, race, and ethnic background. In a press release, the EEOC stated it “recognizes the impact that the current public health emergency is having on workplaces across America and More +

May 05, 2020 Dunlap Seeger

New PPP FAQs: Put Rehire Offers in Writing

On Sunday, the SBA and Treasury Department posted a few more frequently asked questions/answers on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Question 40 is noteworthy. It provides that a borrower’s PPP loan forgiveness amount won’t be reduced if the borrower laid off an employee, offered to rehire the same employee, but the employee declined the offer. This guidance addresses the concern that forgiveness would be reduced despite a borrower’s efforts to rehire. Under the CARES Act, forgiveness is generally reduced where a borrower More +

April 20, 2020 Dunlap Seeger

Do Not Forget About The Covid-19 Employee Leave Recordkeeping

Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations require employees to provide their employer with certain documentation regarding a request for leave under the Emergency Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) or Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”). Employers are required to maintain this documentation for four years. This information should include: Name of the employee; Leave dates; Qualifying reason for leave; and A verbal or written statement that the employee is unable to work because of the qualifying reason. If a leave More +

April 13, 2020 Dunlap Seeger

The U.S. Department of Labor Issues Enforcement Guidance For Recording Cases of COVID-19

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim guidance for enforcing OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements (29 CFR Part 1904) as it relates to recording cases of COVID-19. Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19, if it involves the following: Is confirmed as a COVID-19 illness; Is work-related as defined by 29 CFR 1904.5; and Involves one or more of the general recording More +