Employment & Business Litigation Pointers - Volume I, No. 4

As a public service, we are pleased to present this issue of Employment & Business Litigation Pointers, which aims to provide our clients and subscribers with timely information and practical, business-oriented solutions to the latest employment and general business litigation developments.  In some jurisdictions, newsletters such as this may be considered: Attorney Advertising.
 
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Governor Cuomo and White House Announce Initial Plans for Reopening the Economy: Is Your Business Ready?

By Ann E. Evanko, Esq.

In recent weeks, the White House unveiled a plan for “Opening Up America Again” and Governor Andrew Cuomo detailed a two-phase plan to begin reopening New York as early as May 15th.  While plans to reopen the economy are still in their earliest stages, now is the time for employers to start preparing to reopen their businesses.

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DOL Clarifies When an Employer Can Require an Employee to Use Paid Time Off Under the FFCRA

By Joseph S. Brown, Esq.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Q&A on issues related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), available here.

By way of background, the FFCRA has two key components: (1) Paid Sick Leave (PSL); and (2) Emergency Family and Medical Leave (FMLA+).  The latest installment of Q&A guidance tackles, among other things, the following topics:

• Computing PSL and FMLA+ Entitlement for Employees with Irregular Hours (Q&A 80-81)
• Computing the Average Regular Rate for the FFCRA (Q&A 82-83, 85)
• Taking FFCRA Leave Concurrently with Employer-Provided Leave (Q&A 86)
• Stay-at-Home Orders vs. Quarantine or Isolation Orders (Q&A 87)

This alert focuses on one of the more perplexing issues under the FFCRA: Under what circumstances may an employer require an employee to use his or her existing leave under a company policy for paid time off (PTO) and when does the choice belong to the employee under the DOL regulations? 

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Loan Forgiveness or Not? Pointers for PPP Utilization
By Kevin J. Zanner, Esq. of our Corporate and Commercial Real Estate Development & Finance teams

If your company or organization managed to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the first round of PPP funding, your focus has likely shifted to utilizing the loan proceeds to best position yourself for loan forgiveness. The core requirements for loan forgiveness include maintaining your workforce levels and refraining from reducing employee compensation by more than 25%.  The purpose of this note is to present a set of business/operational recommendations, which, depending on your particular situation, you may find helpful in managing your PPP loan to maximize loan forgiveness.

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Recent Executive Orders and Immunity for Hospitals and Nursing Homes Dealing with COVID-19
By Stephanie L. McCance, Esq. of our Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Liability teams

As New York’s hospitals and nursing homes face mounting pressure in providing an appropriate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Health Department have issued several Executive Orders and Health Directives addressing the expectations of care to be provided to residents in such times, and the liability that facilities may face if they fall short.

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Your COVID-19 Resource Center: Legal Updates Regarding the Coronavirus
 

Hurwitz & Fine is working hard to keep you updated with information that could affect you and your business during this pandemic.  The Labor & Employment team regularly shares updates on federal and state employment law developments in response to the coronavirus.

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Editor:
Joseph S. Brown, Esq.

Hurwitz & Fine's Labor & Employment team
is here to answer your questions:

Labor & Employment Law
Ann E. Evanko, Esq. ([email protected])
Andrea Schillaci, Esq. ([email protected])
Joseph S. Brown, Esq. ([email protected])
Amber E. Storr, Esq. ([email protected])
Katherine L. Wood, Esq.

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