Employment Law Notebook

We have found this to be all too common this year: 

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/09/i-have-to-pay-back-nearly-11k-in-...

Many of us travel during the summer and don’t typically report our vacation plans to our employers.  However, employees who work in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut can expect to be asked by their employers to provide such information due to new travel advisory rules that the three states put in place in late June.

Due to COVID-19, many employers who are contemplating reopening their businesses or returning employees to the worksite are overwhelmed. They want to run a successful business, but are confused about what rules to follow, how to decide which employees should come back first, what to do to keep them safe, and simply how to stay sane!

With laws and standards changing every week, it can be overwhelming to keep track of new guidance related to COVID-19 issues.  We have compiled a list of various key links to guidance documents issued by various New Jersey and federal government agencies and New Jersey business groups in response to COVID-19.  The guidance referenced here is not industry-specific.

COV-19’s effect on the workplace is unprecedented.  Meyers Fried-Grodin’s employment law attorneys have the information employers and employees in New Jersey and New York need to navigate these unchartered, turbulent waters. Some of the common requests/issues we are addressing include the following:

If you have applied for unemployment benefits and been denied benefits or are applying and are unsure how to answer the NJ Department of Labor's questions, read on.

As employers await the green light from their state lifting restrictions that closed their worksites or forced them to shift workers from working onsite to working from home, owners and managers can and should be brainstorming now about a return-to-work plan, and the policies and procedures needed to implement the plan. 

Many working parents who normally send their children to attend or work at a camp or other summer programs are contending with difficult decisions now that many camps and summer enrichment programs have announced closures due to COVID-19.  Employers should expect to receive many more requests for time off this summer from employees with children at home.

Sobel Co offered great tips for companies to consider when planning to return employees to worksites on a webinar for CFOS today.   Here are some of the helpful takeaways from Ken Brown, CFO of Coronet LED, Phil Orsi, COO of control Associates, Inc. and Alan Sobel and Brad Muniz of Sobel:

I have been asked more questions about unemployment benefits in the past month than in my entire time career as an employment attorney.  That's partly because so many more people are out of work than ever before but also because the state and federal government have significantly expanded access to unemployment benefits to cover more out of work scenarios, cover individuals not previously cover