With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issuing the first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, employers are scrambling to determine whether they can legally require their workers to take the vaccine amid the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its COVID-19 guidance to provide employers with a road map detailing the steps businesses must take...
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By Luis F. Calvo On July 8, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision holding that Catholic schoolteachers cannot bring employment discrimination claims against the religious institutions that employ them. The Court reached its decision citing the so-called “ministerial exception,” based on the First Amendment’s protection of the rights of religious institutions “to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church...
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By Luis F. Calvo On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 decision extending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibitions against discriminations “because of sex” to gay, lesbian, and transgender employees. As a result, “[a]n employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender” violates Title VII. The Supreme Court issued a single decision...
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On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order that would restrict some people from entering the country over the next two months but does not shut off all applications for permanent residence or for other temporary visa workers as he had publicly declared one day earlier. The order does block some new entrants who do not already have visas or travel documents,...
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Written by Ryan Hoover The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion plan to respond to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The stimulus package includes loans, tax breaks and direct payments for businesses and individual taxpayers, including $349 billion for Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantees and subsidies and additional funding...
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Written by David S. Hansen Among the early stimulus/relief measures that the U.S. government passed earlier this month was a refundable tax credit for paid sick leave paid by certain employers under specified conditions. The IRS recently released some guidance regarding how employers receive credit here: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-irs-and-labor-announce-plan-to-implement-coronavirus-related-paid-leave-for-workers-and-tax-credits-for-small-and-midsize-businesses-to-swiftly-recover-the-cost-of-providing-coronavirus The pertinent section telling employers how to receive the credit and how much of a credit is here:...
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