"[The bill requires] that all private employers provide their employees with a 'sufficient period of time,' up to four hours, of paid leave to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.... The leave cannot be charged against any other leave to which the employee is entitled, including the recently enacted paid sick leave requirements."

"The Rescue Plan allows assistance-eligible individuals to pay just 15% of the COBRA premium, with the remaining 85% paid by the employer, plan, or insurer and reimbursed by the government through a refundable FICA tax credit.... The legislation would also extend the availability of the refundable paid sick leave and family and medical leave credits through September 30, 2021."

"In the end, the House modified and extended the payroll tax credits for employer-provided paid sick and paid FMLA leave.... Congress is poised to simply extend FFCRA leave provisions on a voluntary basis, just as we have now."

"[T]he rules make clear that the amount of [public health emergency leave (PHEL)] to which part-time employees are entitled is tied to when the employee requests PHEL ... The second change makes clear that employees who are hired during a public health emergency are entitled to PHEL ... [W]hile these rules do not take effect until April 14, 2021, employers can rely on them immediately."

"Unlike the [FMLA], the FAMILY Act would apply to all employers across the country regardless of their size. Employees would be entitled to 60 days of partially paid leave, per year, at two-thirds of their regular pay, capped at $4,000 a month. The leave would be funded through a payroll tax of 0.20%."

This 211-page report describes, and organizes by topic in detail, approximately 325 FMLA decisions of federal and state courts from November 1, 2019 through October 31, 2020.

"This 2021 urgency ordinance takes effect immediately and is retroactive to January 1, 2021.... [It] provides all employees, regardless of the size of the employer, who are not food sector workers, healthcare providers, or first responders ... and who perform work in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, with COVID-19-related leave entitlement."

"[R]isk-averse employers who offer any voluntary (not statutorily mandated) paid leave to employees, including for jury duty, bereavement, sick leave, or other time off, may wish to start offering equivalent levels of paid leave to employees on military leave -- at least until the issue is resolved in the circuit courts, or possibly the Supreme Court."

"The Seventh Circuit considered and rejected several arguments put forth by the employers that 'rights and benefits' do not include paid leave ... The court also rejected the policy argument that it was imposing a 'costly sea-change' on employers by mandating paid military leave, observing that fewer than one percent of employees in the United States are reservists." [White v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 19-2546 (7th Cir. Feb. 3, 2021)]

"[The Seventh Circuit ... became the first federal court of appeals to hold that USERRA requires a private sector employer to provide pay during military leave if it provides pay during other 'comparable' absences, which may include sick leave or jury duty." [White v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 19-2546 (7th Cir. Feb. 3, 2021)]

"[N]umerous California counties and cities have extended their COVID-19 paid sick leave ordinances and imposed additional requirements for employers. To date, these include: Los Angeles (City and County), City of Long Beach, Sacramento (City and County), San Francisco, City of Oakland, San Mateo County, Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, and San Jose."

"On January 1, 2021, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) expanded in several ways ... With [that] expanded applicability ... it's important for California employers to be aware of the sometimes-confusing interplay of CFRA with other state and federal leave laws when it comes to an employee's pregnancy."

"Based on this guidance, it appears the New York [DOL] has ruled that an employee may use quarantine leave for up to three COVID-19 orders."

"Maintain an absence notification policy that requires an employee to call into an actual person or to a call-in line to report their absence and need for leave.... Include very clear language in your FMLA and other leave policies about how you expect your employees to communicate with you regarding the need for leave of any kind.... Set a deadline for the employee to report an absence." [Soutner v. Penn State Health, No. 20-1763 (3rd Cir. Jan. 13, 2021; unpub.)

"[As] of 2021, the mileage threshold is gone, and any company with five employees anywhere in the U.S. (even if just one person in California) must provide 12 weeks of family leave to California employees.... [T]he qualifying reasons that open the door to CFRA leave have expanded.... [T]wo exceptions to CFRA leave have been eliminated."

"[1] Have clear written policies and practices.... [2] Educate, engage, and communicate.... [3] Be organized.... [4] Train managers.... [5] Treat employees taking FMLA leave the same as those who take non-FMLA leave.... [6] Account for other state leave laws.... [7] Consider COVID-19's continued impact.... [8] Remember the ADA."

"As of January 1, 2021, the CFRA applies to private employers of 5 or more employees.... Starting on January 1, 2021, employees also may take leave to care for additional family members ... This expansion will create the possibility of 'leave stacking' where an employee qualifies for CFRA leave but not FMLA leave."

"Last month, the county passed an urgency ordinance requiring all private employers in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave for certain COVID-19-related reasons, provided that the employee did not previously exhaust available leave under the FFCRA or the original supplemental paid sick leave ordinance.... [T]he new ordinance applies to all employers regardless of the number of employees."

"The Court held that the City's detailed PTO policy may be definite enough to create a unilateral contract, the employee accepted the contract by performing work, and concluded ... that the disclaimer language within the Handbook was ambiguous with respect to the PTO policy, " [Hall v. City of Plainview, No. A19-0606 (Minn. Feb. 3, 2021)

"The temporary credit ranges from 12.5% to 25% of wages paid to qualifying employees for up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave per taxable year. However, certain requirements and limitations put the credit out of reach for many employers with paid leave programs."

"[T]he Sonoma County, California Board of Supervisors enacted an urgency ordinance that ... expands coverage under its emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) ordinance ... [T]he San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors adopted ... an ordinance that extends its expiring EPSL ordinance for an additional 60 days ... Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti revised an order requiring employers to provide COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) by broadening employee coverage[.]"

"The FAMILY Act (HR 804) would create a federal insurance fund paid for by both employers and employees to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave -- but without providing relief from the existing maze of state and local paid leave laws."

"[The court] held that USERRA requires employers to provide short-term paid military leave, if they provide paid leave for comparable non-military absences, such as for jury duty or bereavement leave.... The potential impact of [this] decision on employers with large reservist workforces is significant, as the denial of paid leave is a prime candidate for class action treatment." [White v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 19-2546 (7th Cir. Feb. 3, 2021)]

"The court did not find a pattern of antagonism ... The court found that DuPont had stated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for surveilling Snyder, noting that several employees had cast doubt on her disability leave[.]" [Snyder v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. and Company, No. 18-1266 (D. Del. Feb. 5, 2021)]

"Employers that provided paid family and medical leave during the 2020 tax year -- especially those that also provided paid leave related to COVID-19 -- will want to review the updated [Form 8994] and instructions when preparing their tax return"