EEOC Clarifies That Employers Cannot Require Antibody Tests For Employees Returning To Work

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
06/22/2020
As businesses begin the challenge of reopening and ensuring the safety of employees in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic , the EEOC issued important guidance last week regarding the use of antibody testing.   Antibody tests look for signs in the blood to determine whether the person being tested was ever infected with COVID-19—even if that person never showed symptoms.  While antibody tests do not test for immunity, they may...
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EEOC's Updated COVID-19 Guidance: Employees Not Entitled To Accommodations Because They Live With High-Risk Individuals; Treat Older Workers Equally Despite Risk

In an updated guidance on COVID-19, the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, the EEOC has clarified an employer need not accommodate an employee's request to telework who is not high risk but lives with high risk individuals.  The EEOC has also clarified that companies may not mandate exclude older workers and pregnant employees from the workplace even though public health authorities advise they are a higher risk group for severe...
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EEOC, DOL, and OSHA Activity For Employers To Note

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
06/09/2020
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has delayed the submission of this year's EEO-1 forms until March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Each year, employers must submit demographic workforce data by March 31 for the prior calendar year.  The EEOC determined to collect both 2019 and 2020 data in March 2021 given the challenging compensation data of these past few months. The Department of Labor (DOL) published updated COBRA...
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President Trump Signs Law Easing PPP Forgiveness Restrictions

Sarah Longson
Sarah Longson
06/08/2020
On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed the PPP Flexibility Act  into law.  The Act is intended to address some of the flaws in the Payroll Protection Program and subsequent guidelines that were revealed after borrowers attempted to navigate the requirements for use of loan proceeds in order to qualify for loan forgiveness. The PPP Flexibility Act consists of seven changes related to forgiveness, itemized below. PPP borrowers can choose...
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Remember the Employee Retention Credit

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
06/04/2020
Earlier this year laws were passed to provide small businesses and their employees with relief from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Most seem to be aware that employers receive tax credits for the paid sick and family leave required under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  But the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) also provides a tax credit opportunity designed...
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The SBA Releases PPP Loan Forgiveness Application, Instructions and Formal Guidance

Sarah Longson
Sarah Longson
05/28/2020
The SBA released the long-awaited PPP loan forgiveness application form and instructions, as well as Formal Guidelines replacing previous guidance on loan forgiveness. Loan Forgiveness Process A borrower must submit the Loan Forgiveness Application (SBA Form 3508) to its lender, together with necessary documentation identified in the application.  The lender will decide regarding loan forgiveness sixty (60) days from receipt of the application...
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SBA Issues New Guidance on PPP "Safe Harbor" for Loans Less Than $2 Million

Sarah Longson
Sarah Longson
05/14/2020
On April 23, 2020, following the disclosure that well-heeled companies like Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses, and the Los Angeles Lakers had applied for, and received, large PPP loans,  the SBA issued guidance providing that any PPP Borrower, and particularly large borrowers, risked being deemed to have filed the required good faith certificate of need in bad faith if they had the ability “to access other sources of liquidity sufficient...
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Zoom Talk Recording: Reopening and Reintegrating The Workplace

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
05/08/2020
Thank you to everyone who participated in our May 1, 2020 hour-long Zoom Talk, where Garrett Wozniak discussed a variety of issues connected to employers preparing for the reopening and/or reintegration of employees into the workplace.  We have uploaded a recording of the Zoom Talk here so you may review it at your convenience.  Please feel free to reach out to any Kollman & Saucier attorney with...
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EEOC Updates COVID-19 Return To Work Q&A, Encourages Employers To Be “Creative And Flexible” With Accommodations

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
05/06/2020
The EEOC has updated the Return To Work (G.3 & G.5) section of its Q&A Guidance regarding workplace accommodations for individuals deemed high-risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The guidance essentially reminds employers to continue to follow normal interactive processes for identifying reasonable accommodations,  and encourages employers to be “creative and flexible” in their approach to identifying such accommodations. Below...
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Fired Employee Who Claims to Have Contracted COVID-19 Files One of the First FFCRA Lawsuits

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
05/01/2020
In a sign of litigation to come, one of the first cases alleging pay violations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) was brought this week in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The plaintiff in the case worked for the Kroger grocery chain, and alleges that she was fired after supposedly contracting COVID-19. Regular readers of this blog who have a passing familiarity with the new...
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