Employer Law Blog

The United States Supreme Court issued four pertinent decisions during the 2020-2021 year related to labor and employment law.  In one decision, the Court offered guidance regarding the clarity of arbitration agreements and the issue of an arbitrator’s authority to decide whether employer-employee disputes are subject to mandatory arbitration.  Following the 5th Circuit’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate setting the penalty for not buying health insurance to zero was unconstitutional, the Supreme Court in the second decision determined the individual and state plaintiffs nevertheless lacked standing to challenge the mandate given they had no fairly traceable injury to the unlawful conduct.  

In Van Buren v. United States, the Supreme Court handed down its first major decision construing the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. In general, the CFAA sets criminal and civil penalties for unauthorized access to a computer. The CFAA identifies two ways of violating the statute, "access without authorization" and "exceed[ing] authorized access". 

On March 25, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the notice regarding the Families First Coronavirus Recovery Act (FFCRA). The notice is available on the Department’s website and should be posted where employers place other DOL-required posters.

With the government and private business establishing safety and health measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 more companies are faced with the unfortunate and the inevitable decision to reduce their workforce through temporary or permanent business closures or layoffs.

On March 18, 2020, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The new law includes requirements for specified employers to provide leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as well emergency paid sick leave. To assist businesses navigate the new leave requirement, a straight-forward Q & A, is set forth below: