Workforce Bulletin

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) has begun to significantly curtail services as the agency moves to implement a March 14 Executive Order, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, that directs FMCS and other agencies to “reduce the performance of statutory functions and associated personnel to a minimum presence and function required by law.” In response to this Executive Order, FMCS anticipated implementing the agency’s contingency plan, issued in December 2020 in preparation for the potential of a budget-based disruption of agency operations.

As a result, and as noted in a statement FMCS released on March 19th, the agency announced it would examine how to apply the Executive Order in practice moving forward, specifically by ensuring “a coordinated approach to efficiency, optimization, and mission focus.” Among the immediate effects is that, on March 26, most, if not all of FMCS mediators were placed on administrative leave pending layoff, according to multiple news sources.

On July 13, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-189, An Act Requiring Employers to Recall Certain Laid-Off Workers in Order of Seniority (the “Act”), which requires hotels, lodging houses, food service contractors, and building service enterprises with at least 15 employees to notify qualified laid off employees, whose lay-offs were due to lack of business, or a reduction or furlough of the employer’s workforce, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about available positions. This obligation applies to those laid off employees (i) who were employed ...

Many U.S. businesses are starting to prepare for phased returns to the workplace. Employers’ planning should consider the impact that various return-to-work approaches may have on their employee benefits and compensation programs and, in addition, how some innovative employee benefits and compensation programs may enhance workplace morale and productivity by assisting employees transitioning back to the workplace. The following summarizes some of the important benefits and compensation issues to keep in mind as employees return-to-work.

Plan Service Crediting ...

As the COVID-19 state of emergency continues, businesses are implementing and considering a variety of employee-related measures to manage the impact of the crisis. While some businesses may avail themselves of payroll protection programs and loans to maintain the status quo, others may be faced with having to implement reductions-in-force (RIFs), furloughs and layoffs.  Added to this, employers may be faced with larger numbers of leaves of absence both because of COVID-19-related health and family care reasons, but also when certain workers have been called to duty.  The ...

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) continues to update its compliance assistance for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), in the form of “Questions and Answers.”  The DOL posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to the FFCRA on April 1, 2020; while we are digesting the temporary rule and preparing a forthcoming advisory, we wanted to highlight some of the important insights of the updated FAQs. The DOL published its initial guidance on March 24, 2020, summarized in a previous post, covering the FFCRA’s paid sick and paid family leave ...

During this global health emergency, many employers are facing the necessity of curtailing operations and imposing temporary layoffs or furloughs with their workforce.  As a critical consideration, employers have been asking whether and to what extent they may permit group health care coverage to continue during a period of temporary layoff or furlough.

The following questions and answers provide some general guidelines and legal issues to consider in deciding whether to extend group health coverage during a temporary layoff or furlough.

What do we mean by temporary layoffs or ...

by:  Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, and D. Martin Stanberry

On Monday October 1, 2013, the Board published a Notice in the Federal Register  to the NLRB’s website that supplements the effects of the Contingency Plan that we examined at outset of the government shutdown and NLRB furlough. Significantly, the Notice answers some of the important practical questions confronting employers, unions and employees with business before the Board.

With respect to time limits for filings with the agency, according to the Notice, the Board has unilaterally granted an extension of the ...

By: Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, and D. Martin Stanberry

The shutdown of the federal government that took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday October 1^st has shut down all non-essential operations of the US government, including those of the National Labor Relations Board (Board or NLRB).

The Board’s Contingency Plan for Shutdown in the Absence of Appropriations (“Contingency Plan”)  is now in effect, effective today.  It details how the shutdown will impact the NLRB’s operations and what the shutdown means for employers, employees and unions with unfair labor practice ...