Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sweeping new laws and regulations having a tremendous impact on California workplaces were enacted in California in 2020 and 2021. Included, among numerous others, are laws imposing health and safety obligations on employers, regulations requiring employers to quarantine employees and provide wage replacement for employees exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace, along with mandated job-protected paid sick leave and extended paid family leave ...
This is the first in a mini-series of articles setting out how whistleblowing claims can be (and are being) pursued in the Employment Tribunal during the pandemic. This first article discusses the concept of a 'protected disclosure'. Whistleblowing is not always as dramatic or headline-grabbing as this, and disclosure can often be made on a more day-to-day level ...
The negative impact of COVID-19 across the social and economic spectrum is undeniable. We reflect on the findings from the Social Mobility Commission and consider how employers can help give a much-needed boost to social mobility moving forwards. Research recently published by the Social Mobility Commission has given a snapshot of public perceptions of where and whom the pandemic has impacted most ...
Robo-Advisors (sometimes spelt as Robo-Advisers) are digital investment advisory platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. In this article our Oluwapelumi Omoniyi takes a cursory look at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules on Robo-Advisors and highlights the rationale behind the move to regulate Robo-Advisors ...
Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent announcement in Parliament, it is now certain that there will be a Public Inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. What is the planned Inquiry likely to consider, and who might be involved? For over a year now, the government’s focus has been on the here and now - managing and responding to the rollercoaster that is the COVID-19 crisis ...
As many of us continue to work from home and/or have opportunities for travel and meeting up restricted, we are continuing to run our essential webinar series for employers to ensure that our clients and contacts remain up to date and equipped to deal with all eventualities! Our latest seminar focused on the return to places of work ...
Welcome to the tenth issue of the 2021 edition of Unprecedented. The big news from the past two weeks was the Center for Disease Control’s announcement of new guidance allowing fully vaccinated individuals to go unmasked in nearly all circumstances. The announcement was unexpected and sent governments and businesses scrambling to respond. Some governments, like my home state of Pennsylvania, reacted the same day to conforming their own requirements to the new CDC guidance ...
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is scheduled to meet on May 20, 2021 to review proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) on COVID-19 Safety in the workplace that were originally adopted in November, 2020. The rules are expected to be readopted with the revisions and sent on to the Office of Administrative Law for an abbreviated five-day public notice and comment period as an emergency action before taking effect ...
On April 27, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced revised guidance for Interim Final Rule, CMS-3401-IFC related to Long-Term Care Facility Testing Requirements and the COVID-19 Focused Survey Tool. CMS published the initial interim final rule with comment period on Aug. 25, 2020 ...
On May 11, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new rule that will require long-term care facilities and residential facilities serving clients with intellectual disabilities to educate and offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents, clients and staff. This new requirement will closely align with current requirements for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in long-term care facilities ...
On April 27, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced revised guidance for Nursing Home Visitation. CMS issued its initial guidance in March 2020, via memorandum QSO-20-14-NH. Under this memorandum, all visitation by visitors and non-essential health care personnel was restricted, except for situations involving compassionate care, such as end-of-life ...
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The Government of B.C. has tabled legislation which, for now, entitles employees to three paid sick days for leave related to COVID-19. Employers will be required to pay employees their full wages (based on an average of the prior 30 days). The proposed law (Bill 13) also allows for a permanent paid sick leave to be prescribed in the future. The B.C ...
We’re excited to announce that Shoosmiths is one of the partners behind Platform – a six-month campaign that aims to make town centre property more accessible to communities and businesses. Being based in thirteen locations across the UK and with many clients whose businesses rely on a successful town centre, Shoosmiths is heavily invested in the issue of urban revival ...
Living in Uncertain Times More than a year has passed since our lives were turned upside by the outbreak of COVID-19. Across the globe, millions of people have succumbed to the virus and countless businesses have collapsed. In Thailand, although the loss of life has been relatively low, the pandemic has devastated the country’s economy ...
The impact of the pandemic can be seen across all sectors of society but those who are disabled have been particularly affected, not least because employees with an underlying disability are likely to have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable and told to shield for considerable parts of the last year. Being away from the workplace and separated from colleagues has left many feeling insecure ...
To support our IHL community, on 21 April we hosted our latest webinar on “Fraud” where we discussed the recent upsurge in fraud due to home working, general awareness of fraudulent activity and what businesses can do to protect themselves. Here are the key takeaways: What types of fraud are you seeing at the moment? The world is a turbulent place right now, and therefore the perfect time for fraud and illicit activity to thrive ...
Unpacking the Economic Aid Act and American Rescue Plan Act: Consolidated First Draw PPP Interim Final Rule, New First Draw PPP Loans, and Increases to First Draw PPP Loans On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by Economic Aid Act” (sometimes referred to as the “Consolidated First D
On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Second Draw Loans” (“Second Draw Rules”). These rules announced the implementation of section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) ...
On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Second Draw Loans” (“Second Draw Rules”). These rules announced the implementation of section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many novel challenges and questions for employers, from administration of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) leave to managing performance of remote workers. For healthcare providers, these challenges and questions have been only one of many burdens of operating during a pandemic. As vaccines become more widely available, the pandemic raises new challenges, some unique to employers in the healthcare industry ...
The Ohio COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality Assistance Program allows eligible private employers to receive reimbursement for eligible inspections, assessments, maintenance, and/or improvements to indoor heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to help control the spread of COVID-19. Employers are not eligible for this program if any other federal funding has been supplied for the same purposes ...
On June 26, 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Finance – MEF published in the Official Gazette “El Peruano” the Supreme Decree Nº 162-2021-EF (hereinafter, the “Supreme Decree”), whereby it amends the rules contained in the Regulations of the State Procurement Law, adopted by Supreme Decree Nº 344-2018-EF (hereinafter, the “Regulations”) ...
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the Essential Workers, Essential Protections Initiative on April 26, 2021. The Initiative is designed to educate workers on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ...
The COVID-19 Pandemic has wreaked havoc on the mortgage servicing industry, putting significant strain on both mortgage servicers and their borrowers ...
