Compliance Corner

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has published an emergency rule that temporarily requires employers in certain industries to provide paid sick leave to employees for certain COVID-19 related purposes. Employees may be entitled to leave if they have flu-like symptoms or other respiratory illness symptoms, are being tested for COVID-19, or received instructions from a healthcare provider or government official to quarantine or isolate due to a risk of having COVID-19.

The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services has adopted an emergency rule that requires employers to provide an unemployment insurance notice to employees upon termination. The emergency rule takes effect April 27 and expires on Dec. 31, 2020.From April 27, 2020 to December 31, 2020, employers must provide the following notice to employees upon separation from the company.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has adopted an emergency rule that expands the state's unemployment insurance notice requirements. The rule takes effect immediately and expires on Aug. 3, 2020, unless extended.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a temporary rule implementing the leave provisions of the FFCRA. This temporary rule was released on April 1 and is effective immediately. It defines key terms and makes important clarifications regarding the leave requirements.

The District of Columbia has enacted the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 (the "Act"), which temporarily expands the D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) and temporarily expands eligibility for unemployment benefits for employees impacted by COVID-19. The law is effective immediately and is set to expire on June 15, 2020, but it could be extended through further legislation.

Virginia has enacted legislation (House Bill 1514) that amends the definition of racial discrimination to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture, hair type, and certain hairstyles. House Bill 1514 takes effect July 1, 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the City of Philadelphia expanded its paid sick leave ordinance and postponed its predictive scheduling law.