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Michelman & Robinson’s Guide to Coronavirus-Related Paid Sick Leave and Unemployment Insurance Laws in the Tri-State Area

As one of the many unfortunate results of the coronavirus pandemic, employees nationwide will be laid off or otherwise furloughed. Consequently, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have signed into law measures to help ease the disruption to employees and their employers. Michelman & Robinson provides an overview. (Read More)

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An Important Message From Michelman & Robinson About California Governor's Statewide Stay-At-Home Order

The entire state of California has essentially been placed on lockdown as Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a statewide stay-at-home order to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. Governor Newsom’s move, which impacts nearly 40M people, comes on the heels of various “shelter in place” and similar orders that have already been issued throughout the state, including the “Safer at Home” emergency order declared in Los Angeles earlier today by Mayor Eric Garcetti. (Read More) 

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A Message From Michelman & Robinson About "Shelter in Place" Orders

With several counties in California’s Bay Area ordering residents to “shelter in place” for at least three weeks to keep coronavirus from spreading across the region, and Orange County (California) now following suit and preventing private or public gatherings, it seems quite possible that other jurisdictions may take these drastic measures as well. Whether you are located in an area now subject to a “shelter in place” order, or are somewhere that has yet to restrict movement, it is helpful to understand the scope of these new mandates, especially as they relate to your business.

(Read More)

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Telecommuting in the Age of Coronavirus

In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and calls for social distancing, more and more companies are having employees work from home in order to limit the spread. Some of these telecommuting decisions have been made voluntarily, while other businesses have been governmentally mandated to limit the number of employees on site. Some counties, like several in California’s Bay Area, have issued “shelter in place” or similar orders, and just this morning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has commanded non-essential businesses in the state to have 50% of their workforces working from home at any given time. (Read More)

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M&R Deciphers the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Just Passed by the Senate and Signed Into Law by the President

Today, in an effort to ward off economic calamity, the U.S. Senate passed its second economic relief bill this month in response to the coronavirus pandemic—the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("Act"). The Act, which passed by an overwhelming 90-8 vote and was then quickly signed into law by President Trump, expands emergency paid sick and family leave for certain workers, expands unemployment insurance assistance, includes nutrition assistance, and guarantees free diagnostic testing for the coronavirus. Michelman & Robinson addresses common questions about the Act in this alert, which supersedes our discussion of the bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Note that our analysis is based on the bill’s language as of March 18.

(Read More)

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Michelman & Robinson Breaks Down the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The House passed sweeping legislation Saturday to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote to expand access to free testing, provide $1 billion in food aid, and extend sick leave benefits to vulnerable Americans. Here, in question and answer form, Michelman & Robinson, LLP addresses some of the employment and tax implications of the bill that may be of particular interest to you.

(Read More)

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Employment in the Time of Coronavirus: Managing Your Workforce in the Face of a Global Pandemic

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is the largest viral outbreak in the past hundred years and has already made an unprecedented impact on how businesses operate around the world. As of this date, coronavirus has disrupted travel and industry across Asia, and is now beginning to spread across Europe and the United States in what the Center for Disease Control (CDC) refers to as "an emerging, rapidly evolving situation." It is clear that coronavirus is a global health issue that will have a lasting effect in the weeks and months to come. Already, supply chains and production lines are being severely disrupted, travel bans have been implemented, and public and private events have been canceled. Additionally, as testing methodologies improve, the number of people identified as having coronavirus will continue to increase.

(Read More)

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The Department of Labor Has Spoken: New Joint Employer Liability Rule Becomes Final

In a dramatic departure from the rather flexible standard for joint employer liability embraced under the Obama administration, the Department of Labor has announced a final rule regarding joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that will surely please employers. It becomes effective in mid-March. The new rule is, in part, a response to the business community’s outcry against prior decisions finding franchisors to be joint employers of their franchisees’ employees, even when those franchisors lacked control over the terms and conditions of workers’ employment. (Read More) 

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5 Key Considerations When Starting Your Cannabusiness

The estimate is staggering: $30,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeros and a forecast of annual legal cannabis sales by 2025—this as more and more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use. No question, the cannabis business is booming, which is something of a given. Less obvious is what you, as a budding cannabusiness entrepreneur, should consider in making cannabis your business. Toward that end, there’s a broad range of issues to think about. (Read More)

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Attention New York Employers: Sweeping Changes Have Been Made to the State’s Discrimination Law

Summer Associate Adam Korn contributed to this post

In the wake of the #MeToo Movement, New York has become the most recent state to make it easier for employees to bring sexual harassment lawsuits against their employers. On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation into law that lowers the bar for what is considered workplace harassment and eliminates many of the barriers employees have faced in litigating these claims. Here’s how: (Read More)