Welcome to the FDAR Blog!
We are committed to providing excellent service to our clients in a down-to-earth style that is unique to FDAR. Our hope is that this blog will provide valuable insights that help you in the day-to-day operation of your organization. Our team of attorneys will write about legal topics that are important to our clients in layman’s terms. Please check back often for new blog topics!
Five Need-to-Know Updates for FFCRA Compliance
The day after its passage, on March 19th of this year, we published our first blog on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The law created several new entitlements for American workers which required employers to quickly adjust. With the 24-hour news cycle, March 19th seems like a lifetime ago. And since then, Congress has added to the alphabet soup of Coronavirus response legislation, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). While many might have grown weary of the pandemic and hearing about the federal government’s response, the FFCRA remains one of the most impactful and important pieces of legislation for many employers. With the status of school reopening [...]
Supreme Court Extends Title VII Protections to Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that employers violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when they discriminate regarding a term or condition of employment based on an employee’s gender identity or sexual orientation. Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The three plaintiffs in Bostock brought suit against their former employers arguing they were fired merely for being gay or transgender and thus, their termination was based on sex in violation of Title VII. The Supreme Court agreed and held that an employer’s discrimination on the basis of an employee’s sexual orientation and transgender status qualifies as [...]
Reopening and the Americans with Disabilities Act
As businesses across the country begin to reopen, it is important to consider the issues and circumstances that may give rise to claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This month’s blog will cover common reopening questions that may implicate the ADA and discuss the rights and obligations of employers under the ADA to avoid unnecessary retaliation and discrimination claims. Under the ADA, individuals with a qualifying disability are protected against discrimination in the terms or conditions of employment on the basis of a disability. An employee is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, have a record of a substantially limiting impairment, or if they are regarded [...]
Families First Coronavirus Response Act Signed Into Law, Will Quickly Impact Employers
On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the US Senate passed HR 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. President Trump signed the bill into law that night. Provisions of the Act take effect in 15 days and automatically expire on December 31, 2020. The measure passed by the Senate keeps intact the majority of provisions discussed in our March 16, 2020 blog about the bill passed by the House of Representatives. However, the House passed minor changes in an effort to ensure easier passage through the Senate. The bill requires the Secretary of Labor to issue additional regulations before the Act takes effect which will assist employers in determining leave eligibility and entitlement. Paid Sick Leave The Act provides two weeks [...]
Employer Rights/Obligations in the Coronavirus Pandemic
Earlier this month, we published a blog article outlining how employers can prepare for employee illness related to the flu season and Coronavirus. Since then, federal and state authorities have implemented measures to slow the spread of Coronavirus. These measures present a number of concerns for employers who may have sick employees, or employees who cannot or should not report to work. We recommend that employers carefully follow all orders and recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other federal and state authorities. These orders include travel restrictions, quarantines, and limitations on mass gatherings. Employers should review their work rules or policies to comply with all [...]
Coronavirus, Influenza, and the Workplace
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is everywhere in the news and everyone is talking about it. The virus, which was first recognized in December 2019, has spread from its point of origin to nearly fifty countries by the beginning of March 2020. But for all the news coverage in the American media, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there have been only fifty-three (53) confirmed cases in the United States, and only in one of those cases was the illness contracted by someone while in the United States. The rest are individuals who fell ill elsewhere before travelling to the US. While that number is certain to grow in the coming weeks and months, it pales in comparison to the number of [...]