Coronavirus: Resources and Rapid Response Task Force

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued new guidance for employers that clarifies previous guidelines for reopening businesses and returning employees to the workplace. Employers should take the time to carefully review this guidance (which is currently available on OSHA’s website) as well as any applicable state or local government guidance.

Goldberg Segalla’s Employment and Labor team has analyzed the OSHA guidance and offers the following quick summary, which we recommend for review prior to reading the entire guidance.

Read the full alert here.

On June 26, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-4, providing welcome guidance to employers on when an employee may take leave pursuant to the FFCRA to care for a child whose summer camp, summer enrichment program, or other summer program is closed for COVID-19 related reasons.

The DOL’s guidance first clarifies that summer camps and summer enrichment programs are considered “places of care” under the FFCRA because they are physical locations in which care is provided for the employee’s child while the employee works. Additionally, although many camps and summer programs may have reopened, they may still be considered “closed” for purposes of FFCRA if they are operating at a reduced capacity, such that some children that would ordinarily have attended that camp or program might not be able to do so.

Read the full alert here.

The Illinois legislature recently enacted bipartisan amendments to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Diseases Acts to address the evidentiary requirements and standard of proof for COVID-19 claims. The legislation comes in response to a rule enacted by the Workers’ Compensation Commission, which was ultimately withdrawn following a lawsuit by Illinois business groups and a temporary injunction from a circuit court judge.

Read the full alert here.

The State of New York recently enacted a law that provides death benefits to the families of front-line workers who lost their lives during the on-going state of emergency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the bill, S.8427/A.10528, on May 30, 2020.

Read the full alert here.

Attorneys and professionals across our 22-office, 11-state domestic footprint spend each day advising clients in a variety of industries on evolving legal and regulatory matters related to the coronavirus pandemic. These attorneys—comprising our national Coronavirus Rapid Response Task Force—collaboratively advise clients on the most critical questions that face them today, from employment and labor matters to fast-evolving regulatory concerns and unanticipated liability claims and business litigation.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Our Coronavirus Employment and Labor Rapid Response Team exists to handle all of the most pressing issues facing employers in the unprecedented business environment created by the coronavirus pandemic. Led by senior attorneys from our Employment and Labor practice, this group provides daily counsel to a diverse client community on issues including workplace safety, changes to employment policies, interpretation of new state and federal laws and guidance, labor issues, layoffs and staff reductions, the defense of employment-related claims, and strategic communications to internal and external stakeholders.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services practice—home to one of the largest collection of senior insurance coverage attorneys in the nation—serves multiple leading insurers on national and regional coronavirus coverage panels. Our dedicated Coronavirus Coverage Team includes many senior coverage partners across our national footprint, allowing us to coordinate and ensure consistency in our approach to coronavirus claims, while avoiding taking any position in one claim or in one jurisdiction that could disadvantage a client in another.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla has been on the forefront of the evolving coronavirus global health crisis, advising our clients through alerts and presentations as well as the broader legal, insurance, and business communities through publications in major outlets.

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