On August 28, 2021, Missouri’s new Victims Economic Safety and Security Act (VESSA) took effect. The statute requires employers with at least 20 employees to provide employees who have experienced domestic or sexual violence with unpaid leave and reasonable safety accommodations. VESSA also requires qualifying employers to comply with employee notice obligations by October 27, 2021. Read more >>
Legal Updates
September 16, 2021
Missouri Now Requires Employers to Provide Leave and Accommodations for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence
September 15, 2021
Video: Biden’s Employer Vaccine Mandate, NY HERO Act Safety Plans, Cannabis Cases – Employment Law This Week
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we focus on Biden’s six-pronged action plan towards combating COVID-19, which requires mandatory vaccination programs for a majority of employers.
Biden Announces Employer Vaccine Mandates
On September 9, President Biden announced that all federal agencies and contractors and employers with 100 or more employees in the private sector must mandate COVID-19 vaccination through a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration-enforced emergency temporary standard. The plan is estimated to impact two-thirds of the country’s workforce. Attorneys Kate Rigby and Adam Tomiak discuss how employers should prepare for compliance. To read more about the President’s plan, click here.
September 15, 2021
A Big Relief to Telecom Sector
As part of its comprehensive package for the Telecom Sector of the Country, the Government of India has announced 100 % Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) under the automatic route in the said sector. To date, investment was allowed in the Telecom Sector up to 49% via automatic route and any investment beyond 49% had to be routed through the government i.e., the approval of the Government was required to be obtained.
September 14, 2021
Navigating New Jersey’s Telemedicine Business Registry
The New Jersey Department of Health (the “Department”) recently finalized regulations initially proposed in April 2020 that will now require all telehealth organizations providing telemedicine services to patients located in New Jersey to register their business with the Department before October 15, 2021, and annually thereafter. In addition to annual registrations, telehealth companies will also be required to submit annual reports on activity and encounter data.
September 14, 2021
Marijuana Legalization Rundown: Recent Judicial Decisions
As we wrote in our last Marijuana Legalization Rundown, state legislatures across the country have been busy enacting cannabis legalization laws this year. Along with those laws has come a number of recent court decisions interpreting the application of cannabis legalization laws. This post summarizes some of the significant decisions issued this year.
September 14, 2021
Supreme Court: Completion of CIRP within 330 days, Submitted Resolution Plan cannot be modified by the Resolution Applicant
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of Ebix Singapore Private Limited vs Committee of Creditors (“CoC”) of Educomp Solutions Limited held that the corporate insolvency resolution process (“CIRP”) has to be completed in a mandatory time-framed i.e. within a period of 330 days as provided under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”).
September 13, 2021
Novel Massachusetts Decision Finds Waiver of Right to Compel Arbitration Based on Pre-Litigation Actions
Many employers are aware that they could waive the ability to enforce an arbitration agreement if they delay moving to compel arbitration until after they have engaged in significant litigation activities in court, such as filing a motion to dismiss or serving discovery requests. However, in Hernandez v. Universal Protection Services, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge found that an employer waived its right to compel arbitration based on its actions before an employee filed suit in court. As Hernandez is novel and significant, employers may want to consider adopting practices to remind employees of their arbitration agreements when it appears that litigation is likely.
September 10, 2021
California Appellate Decision Recognizing Manageability Requirements for PAGA Actions May Provide Much Needed Relief to Employers
It is no secret that the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) has been a cash cow for plaintiffs’ counsel in California.
PAGA allows a single employee (and their counsel) to file suit on behalf of other employees for alleged Labor Code violations, without having to go through the class action mechanism. In other words, a PAGA plaintiff can file suit seeking penalties for hundreds or thousands of employees, yet never need to show that there are common issues susceptible to common proof – or even that their own claims are typical of those of other employees.
September 10, 2021
A Draft Regulation Significantly Changes the Duty to Defend in Quebec
By Nick Krnjevic, from our Insurance Law Practice Group
September 10, 2021 — On September 8, 2021, the Quebec Minister of Finance published in Part 2 of the Official Gazette of Quebec a draft of the regulation [Draft Regulation] that specifies the categories of insurance contracts, and insured parties, that may derogate, in part, from the rules set out in articles 2500 and 2503 of the Civil Code of Quebec [CCQ].
Quebec has always been distinct in that the costs associated to the duty to defend are over and above the policy limits. The draft regulation will allow an insurer to deviate from this in certain circumstances.
September 8, 2021
Proposed Massachusetts Law Classifying App-Based Drivers as Independent Contractors Clears First Step of Ballot Initiative Process
On September 1, 2021, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey approved two versions of a ballot initiative (version 1, version 2) concerning the relationship between app-based drivers (such as those who transport passengers or deliver food) and the companies with which they contract. If passed, the ballot initiative will enact the Relationship Between Network Companies and App-Based Drivers Act (the “Act”) and classify such drivers as independent contractors, not employees. It will also require ride-sharing and food-delivery companies to provide them with certain benefits.
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