In the face of the COVID-19 emergency, employers are struggling with many questions about the impact in the workplace. This document provides answers to many Frequently Asked Questions. As this is a fast-moving and volatile situation, we will be constantly updating this document.

On June 10, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updated guidance for businesses on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation – taking into account the impact of vaccinations – along with a long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) applicable only to healthcare (which is not discussed in this E-lert).

Workplace guidance on COVID-19 keeps shifting at the federal and state level, which poses a challenge for all employers.

The U.S. Department of Labor, through its Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)-funded Job Accommodations Network (JAN), has recently added a number of resources for employers on COVID-19 and reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to its COVID-19 webpage.

Among the new resources that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Accommodations Network (JAN) recently added to its COVID-19 webpage is included frequently asked questions on COVID-19 Long Haulers and the ADA.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has issued guidance for employers and employees navigating new and unexpected workplace challenges.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has updated its COVID-19 and the Fair Labor Standards Act: Questions and Answers, initially issued in July 2020, to incorporate additional information that has become relevant as the pandemic has continued.

As more employees are being vaccinated, some are experiencing adverse reactions significant enough to impact their ability to work.

The White House highlighted a benefit to small employers that was part of the American Rescue Plan Act enacted on March 11, 2021: a tax credit for providing employees with paid leave to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine.

On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor issued FAQs and five model notices for the COBRA premium subsidy provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which we discussed in our March 16, 2021 E-lert.

This past month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a new national emphasis program and an Updated Interim Enforcement Plan as part of its efforts to address workplace safety issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance on workplace vaccination programs that reiterates and expands upon prior guidance on this topic, with the intent of increasing vaccine uptake among essential (and other) workers. According to the CDC, vaccinations benefit both employers and employees by keeping the workforce healthy, reducing absences, and improving both productivity and morale.

In addition to expanding and extending the tax credits that employers may opt to receive under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act for voluntarily providing paid COVID-19-related leave through September 30, 2021, which we discussed in our March 12, 2021 E-lert, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) contains several other important employment-related provisions...

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, both expands and extends the tax credits that employers may opt to receive under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for voluntarily providing paid COVID-19-related leave through September 30, 2021.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new, more relaxed COVID-19 protocols for fully-vaccinated individuals.

With case rates declining and COVID vaccine options expanding, five States as of March 8, 2021 have announced the end of all pandemic-driven restrictions, including mask mandates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to revise its guidance on the use of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to issue a steady stream of new guidance and information on COVID-19, some of which has specific relevance to the workplace.

The CDC issued updated guidance on February 10, 2021, stating that, "Fully vaccinated persons who meet criteria will no longer be required to quarantine following an exposure to someone with COVID-19, but only if they have received both doses, it has been at least two weeks and not more than three months since the second dose, and they have not exhibited any symptoms following exposure."

As promised by the new Biden Administration, OSHA provided stronger guidance for employers and employees on COVID-19 in the workplace

So says the CDC in its new guidance on workplace testing programs, which adds to its previous guidance, Testing Strategies: Considerations for Non-Healthcare Workplaces.

As individuals beyond front-line healthcare workers are becoming eligible for the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just released a toolkit for employers of essential workers, to join those that it previously released for medical centers/clinics/clinicians, and long-term care facilities.

In addition to the voluntary extension of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s paid leave provisions, which we discussed in our December 22, 2020 E-lert, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (the Act), included in the massive (5593 page) stimulus bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, expands or extends relief benefits under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, discussed in our March 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020 E-lerts.

The paid sick leave and family leave mandates under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) end on December 31, 2020; however, the stimulus bill passed by Congress on December 22, 2021 permits employers to voluntarily provide those paid leave benefits, and receive the corresponding tax credit, through March 31, 2021.

With the COVID-19 vaccine finally becoming a reality, healthcare employers, who were first to receive the vaccine for distribution to their workforce, are addressing questions of how to implement vaccination programs.

The revisions are based on new scientific evidence regarding the transmission risk from asymptomatic individuals as well as the ongoing community transmission risk in many areas.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its recommended quarantine period for those individuals who were in close contact with a person with COVID-19.

As distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine begins, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has modified its What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws resource to address the impact of federal non-discrimination laws on an employer’s vaccine requirements. .

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued guidance identifying the violations of workplace standards most often found during COVID-related inspections, accompanied by a one-page summary identifying requirements that employers must follow.

For many months now, the CDC has told us that cloth masks help to control the spread of COVID-19 by providing a barrier to help prevent the wearer's respiratory droplets from reaching others - but that the masks did not protect the wearer.

In revising its definition of who is considered to be in “close contact” with a person infected with COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) significantly expanded the universe of individuals who might be required to self-isolate.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued new FAQs regarding the reporting of work-related COVID-19 cases, providing much-needed clarification to employers.

NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb released GC Memo 20-14 summarizing unfair labor practice charges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic

The DOL has now issued a revised Final Rule, which becomes effective on September 16, 2020

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its What You Should Know About Covid-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and Other EEO Laws.

As the school year begins, employers are struggling to understand how the paid leave mandates under the FFCRA apply to the varied iterations of school reopening. The Department of Labor has updated its Q&A resource to address some of these questions.

The surge in telecommuting during the COVID has raised many issues for employers, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In the past several weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance on several significant issues of interest to employers

The NLRB's Division of Advice (DOA), an arm of the General Counsel’s (GC) Office, has been busy releasing to the public Advice Memoranda addressing complex or novel legal issues that have arisen during COVID-19 pandemic

The District of Columbia Council passed the Protecting Businesses and Workers from COVID-19 Emergency Amendment Act of 2020

Virginia’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), 16VAC25-220, went into effect after being adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry’s (DOLI) Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Program and the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board

President Trump issued, on August 8, 2020, Memoranda and Executive Orders concerning unemployment insurance, payroll tax withholding, evictions, and student loans.

In a decision impacting all employers covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal court upended some of the employer-friendly limitations set forth in the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) implementing regulations.

Maryland’s Governor issued an Order expanding the mandated use of face coverings to almost all private workplaces, effective 5:00 p.m. on July 31, 2020. In addition, new travel restrictions were also announced, including “strongly recommending” 14-days quarantine periods for certain travel.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised its guidance on when those with COVID-19 may be released from self-isolation and thereby return to work.

The National Labor Relations Board’s Office of General Counsel released a memo, GC 20-10, that provides guidelines for conducting manual elections during the pandemic.

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) of the National Labor Relations Board issued a slew of Advice Memoranda this month that offer some guidance to employers, both unionized and non-union.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued additional Q&A resources to provide guidance to employers on COVID-19-related issues under the FLSA, FMLA, and the FFCRA.

As offices and other workplaces reopen, employers are struggling with the issue of masks and face coverings in the workplace.

The Department of Labor issued several field bulletins this month on issues related to COVID-19 and school children, as well as damages in enforcement actions.

Several federal agencies have recently issued additional COVID-19 guidance of interest to employers

Without fanfare on May 27, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance for employers of office workers (as well as updated guidance for restaurants and bars).

The CDC has issued a lengthy document in support of the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again, containing specific Interim Guidance documents for employers with high-risk workers, as well as for child care programs, schools, bars and restaurants, and mass transit.

OSHA has reversed direction, with increased in-person workplace inspections and recording obligations.

The SBA issued two interim final rules providing guidance on the requirements for loan forgiveness and loan review procedures and related borrower and lender responsibilities under the PPP.

Federal government agencies, including the CDC and the EEOC, and many state and local governments have approved of the use of temperature screening as part of a business’s return-to-work strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Various federal agencies have recently issued additional COVID-19 guidance of significance (more or less) to employers.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided updated guidance on several issues of relevance to employees infected with COVID-19.

The federal Department of Labor (DOL) issued new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions and added to its extensive Questions and Answers resource for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” resource to expand upon its guidance on some issues of concern to employers – reasonable accommodations and employee testing.

The District of Columbia temporarily expanded both its Family and Medical Leave Act (DC-FMLA) and its Sick and Safe Leave Act (DC-SSLA) to include COVID-19-related reasons.

Governor Hogan issued “Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery,” his plan for reopening the state as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis begins to ease. This plan is of critical interest and importance to Maryland employers, and we outline the plan here.

During the past week or so, various federal agencies have issued additional COVID-19 guidance of significance (more or less) to employers. We summarize these developments.

On April 1, 2020, the effective date of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Department of Labor issued its implementing regulations.

The Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, updated its Frequently Asked Questions

Governor Hogan has issued an Executive Order, effective 8:00 p.m. on March 30, 2020, requiring all Maryland residents to stay at home except to conduct essential activities.

Under the “Paycheck Protection Program” the federal government will essentially give an employer 2.5 times its monthly payroll, to use for paying wages, rent, mortgage interest and utilities.

The CARES Act imposes important new requirements on the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program.

President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion bill that contains provisions that will provide relief to businesses and individuals negatively impacted by the recent pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Labor updated its Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers on March 28, 2020 to provide guidance on a number of key issues.

The DOL updated its FFCRA: Questions and Answers to provide more guidance about the paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requirements under the FFCRA.