On March 10, 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“Rescue Plan”), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package intended to provide continued economic relief to individuals, businesses, and state and local...more
Facing a government shutdown and the expiration of many of the relief programs included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) enacted in March 2020, on December 21, 2020, Congress passed...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an update to its Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 16-20 to provide additional guidance on the CARES Act’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program in...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published two additional Unemployment Insurance Program Letters (UIPLs) providing guidance on the administration of the expanded unemployment insurance benefits under the CARES Act....more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The $2.2 trillion package included various provisions increasing and expanding unemployment insurance benefits...more
The EEOC has rescinded its 1997 Policy Statement on Mandatory Binding Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Disputes as a Condition of Employment (the “Policy Statement”), which set forth the Commission’s position that...more
In a pair of recently issued decisions, the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that Sarbanes Oxley’s anti-retaliation provision does not apply extraterritorially. Hu v. PTC, Inc., ARB Case No....more
The ARB recently affirmed the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim under Section 806 of SOX, holding an employer is not a “contractor” covered by SOX simply because it was a party to a contract with a publicly...more
On January 22, 2018, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict awarding approximately $1.5 million in damages to a radiation oncologist after finding that she had been constructively and wrongfully terminated in...more
2/1/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Public Policy ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
A new Vermont law will require most employers to provide paid sick time to employees. Vermont is the fifth state to adopt a paid sick leave law, following Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon. The law will be...more
Two courts in the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that the Illinois Whistleblower Act (IWA) (740 ILCS § 174/5) provides for individual liability. Bello v. Village of Skokie, No. 14-cv-1718 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2,...more
As 2015 comes to a close, paid sick leave remains a hot issue in New Jersey. The City of New Brunswick recently became the eleventh municipality in New Jersey to mandate paid sick leave, but will be the first city in the...more
On November 24, 2015, the ARB adopted an expansive interpretation of what constitutes an adverse action for claims asserted under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1982 (FRSA), holding that a reduced performance rating with...more
Voters in Elizabeth, New Jersey overwhelmingly approved a public question on the ballot requiring private-sector employers in the city to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Elizabeth follows the lead of multiple...more
The Jersey City Council voted to expand the scope of the City’s existing sick leave ordinance on October 29, 2015. Under the Ordinance as amended, employers with less than 10 employees now will be required to provide...more
11/2/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Leave ,
Penalties ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Leave
In August, the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania passed an ordinance that will require most employers to provide workers with paid or unpaid sick time. Pittsburgh follows the lead of Philadelphia, which approved a similar...more
Further reflecting the divide amongst courts regarding the definition of “whistleblower” under the Dodd-Frank Act, the District Court of New Jersey recently held that an employee who internally reports an alleged securities...more
The Second Circuit recently entertained oral argument in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy, focusing on whether the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection provision covers individuals who only complain internally about alleged securities law...more
Oregon recently passed a new law that will require most employers with 10 or more employees to provide paid sick time. Oregon is the fourth state to adopt a paid sick leave law, following Connecticut, California, and...more
6/24/2015
/ Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave Act ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay
On May 5, 2015, in Somers v. Digital Realty Trust Inc., No. C-14-5180, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held that an internal complaint of an alleged securities law violation is sufficient to...more
The City of Philadelphia Managing Director’s Office (“the Agency”) recently issued its official notice of employee rights under the Philadelphia sick leave ordinance. ...more
The Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs recently issued a guidance memorandum titled “Clarification of the Investigative Standard for OSHA Whistleblower Investigations,” for the apparent purpose of clarifying the...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently deferred to the SEC’s determination that a tipster who provided information to the Commission before July 21, 2010, the effective date of the Dodd-Frank Act, is not eligible to...more
NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently announced his plans to propose legislation that would create a whistleblower incentive program at the state level. The proposal, titled the Financial Frauds Whistleblower Act,...more
The Fourth Circuit recently held that SOX whistleblower retaliation claims are subject to a four-year statute of limitations and that emotional distress damages are available in SOX actions. Jones v. SouthPeak Interactive...more