Recently, the EEOC (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) updated its ongoing COVID-19 guidance with questions and answers that specifically address mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies within the workplace. In short, the guidance provided suggests that employers can implement and enforce mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies for employees. However, there are certain exceptions and caveats to be aware of. What to know about…
During Monday night’s coronavirus briefing, County Judge Nelson Wolff said there have been more than 700 compliance checks around the county to ensure that businesses are requiring masks within their establishments – a mandate that went into effect early last week without opposition from Texas Governor, Greg Abbott. The governor had previously issued an executive order that banned local governments…
On Monday, in a ground-breaking decision, the Supreme Court ruled that federal law protects LGBT workers from discrimination. With this ruling, employers who fire workers for being gay or transgender will be violating civil rights laws. This decision comes just days after the Trump administration announced it was going to remove nondiscriminatory health-insurance and health-care protections for LGBTQ people. The…
On Wednesday evening, the Senate passed by voice vote a House-passed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) reform bill. This brings Congress one step closer to enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which will give small businesses owners more flexibility in using PPP loan money. The PPP was enacted in order to help small businesses with an emergency loan as…
Today, the United States House of Representatives passed new legislation which would make it easier for businesses to have their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven by relaxing restrictions on how the loan money can be used and extending the period that businesses have to use the funds. The bill would extend the forgiveness period for PPP loans from eight to…
With the rise in Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States, employers are understandably concerned about what this means for their business. As an employer, the main focus that should be emphasized is safety of employees. In addition, now would also be a good time to review policies and procedures that are in place regarding sick leave to reduce legal…
Last Thursday, San Antonio City Council members voted to revise the city’s paid sick leave ordinance—a law many believe to be quite controversial. The ordinance requires all San Antonio employers, regardless of size, to grant their employees one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, with a yearly cap of 56 hours of earned paid sick time.…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a rule that extends mandatory overtime pay for 1.3 million workers in the U.S. Currently, workers who earn a salary (not hourly wages) of $23,660 per year or less are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 a workweek. This number was set back in 2004. The new…
