Even before the Biden Administration promulgated its now-in-legal-limbo vaccination/testing mandates, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought health-related, and religious-related, matters to the forefront of the employer-employee relationship, perhaps like never seen before. As a result, employers often have been forced to have difficult conversations...

IRS Issues Guidance to Employers to Claim Tax Credits for Voluntary Leave Related to COVID-19 and the Vaccine
As set forth in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), employers and certain governmental employers are allowed to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them if they choose to provide paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19, including leave taken to receive and/or recover from COVID-19 vaccines. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)...
Updates Regarding Families First Coronavirus Response Act Date Change
By: Abby S. Busler Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) began issuing guidance and posters regarding the upcoming Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which includes the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA). Most importantly, the initial start date has changed, and the FFCRA...

Department of Labor Proposes New Changes to Overtime Law
By: Laurie E. Meyer On Thursday, March 7th, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its long-awaited proposed rule to change the minimum salary threshold for overtime eligibility. According to the DOL, this proposed rule would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime. First, a little bit of history. Under...

Wisconsin Supreme Court Makes Significant Ruling on Open Meetings Law
By James M. Kalny On June 29, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion in State of Wisconsin ex rel. John Krueger v. Appleton Area School District Board of Education and Communication Arts 1 Materials Review Committee, No. 2015AP231 regarding what constitutes a governmental body for purposes of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law. The Supreme...

Seventh Circuit Rules Sexual Orientation Workplace Discrimination Is Illegal
By Laurie E. Meyer In a precedent setting decision, Hively v. Ivy Tech, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court having jurisdiction for Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois, ruled on April 4, 2017, that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual...

Breaking News: Federal Judge Blocks DOL Overtime Rules
Late yesterday, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Final Rule and its regulations regarding the new salary thresholds for the so-called “white collar” exemptions that were set to go into effect on December 1st. The injunction not only prevents the regulations related to the Final Rule...

Temporary Workers and the FMLA: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
By Laurie E. Meyer Temporary Workers and the FMLA As most employers know, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the...
Federal District Court in Texas Issues Preliminary Injunction Halting Federal Government’s Enforcement of Transgender Discrimination Guidance
By D|K's School and Higher Education Law Team A new development has arisen in the current evolution of transgender discrimination law applicable to school districts and other entities receiving federal money throughout the country. The latest turn involves a Texas federal district judge’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction against the...
U.S. Supreme Court Offers Temporary Ruling on Transgender Discrimination Against Students
By D|K's School and Higher Education Law Team Transgender considerations continue to evolve, particularly relative to the impact on the nation’s school districts, colleges and universities. As noted in our May 20, 2016 Legal Alert, the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education issued joint guidance in an effort to unify the nation’s...