Publications — Page 23 of 51 — Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events

DOL Issues Guidance on Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA Leave Under The FFCRA

Published on: March 31, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

Last week in our publication entitled Employer’s Guide to Federal and State Employee Leave Rights and Income Protection for Coronavirus Related Absences, we addressed the new Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“Emergency FMLA Leave”) that employers must provide to employees as of April 1, 2020 under the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). As indicated in that publication, the US Department of Labor was expected to issue additional guidance of compliance with these new paid leave obligations.

Since the passage of the FFCRA, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued several versions of a Questions and Answers publication that clarifies some of the issues that were not directly addressed in the FFCRA. Below is a summary of some of those clarifications.

Documentation Employees Must Submit to Support a Paid FFCRA Leave Request. The FFCRA mandates Emergency Paid Sick Leave if the employee is able to work/telework for one of 6 Covid-19 related absences (refer to the Guidance link above for the list of 6 qualifying reasons) and paid Emergency FMLA Leave if the employee is unable to work due to a child’s school or daycare closure (or unavailability of daycare provide). The DOL makes it clear that employers must require employees to provide documentation to support an Emergency Paid Sick Leave or Emergency FMLA Leave, including:

6 Tips for Every Business Dealing with Remote Access and Teleworking Employees

Published on: March 29, 2020 | by Eric B. Levine

By the time you are reading this guidance, your business has likely been operating under a shelter in place order or perhaps even a governmental quarantine in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, and your staff has been operating remotely for an extended period. While it may be too soon to fully assess whether remote access and teleworking is functioning optimally for your business, it is not too soon to ensure that the process of remote access and telework is being undertaken on the enterprise level in a safe and diligent fashion. Indeed, this is a responsibility that should be addressed from the Board of Directors and C-suite level down to the factory floor.

While the topic of remote access and its impact on cybersecurity could fill up volumes, there are two aspects of remote access and telework that businesses of all sizes need to acknowledge and address immediately. First, while remote access and telework were on the rise before the Coronavirus Pandemic, they are now most assuredly an integral part of your business for the foreseeable future. Your customers and staff expect you to be able to keep your business open through remote operations, and the harsh reality is that businesses that cannot operate remotely in some capacity have less chance of success during periods of shelter in place orders, governmental quarantines and social distancing.

Second, with more staff utilizing remote access and telework during the pandemic, the likelihood of your business’s information technology and the data stored thereon being exposed through cyber-breaches and attacks has grown exponentially. There are countless articles explaining the inherent dangers of remote access and telework, but the theme that permeates them all is that working remotely comes with its own set of dangers and that hackers and cybercriminals who have already been relentlessly attacking businesses through email and phishing scams, DDoS attacks, ransomware and social engineering, have already increased their attacks on businesses using remote access. Simple changes in your staff’s routines caused by new procedures can throw them off balance and create an opportunity for a hacker to exploit.

Small Business Forgivable Loan Program Under The $2 Trillion Federal Stimulus Act—What Businesses Need To Know

Published on: March 27, 2020 | by Robert W. Anderson

On March 27, 2020, the $2 Trillion federal stimulus act known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted, providing among other things for $349 Billion in funding for forgivable loans to small businesses to assist in funding payroll and certain other expenses during the current coronavirus pandemic. The “Paycheck Protection Loans” are available to businesses with under 500 employees who had employees on payroll as of February 15, 2020 (and certain other businesses and nonprofit organizations specified in the CARES Act). Here is the basic summary.

Implementation: The CARES Act requires that final implementing regulations must be issued within 15 days after enactment (i.e. by April 11, 2020). Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said that he will look to have the application process implemented by April 3, 2020 (with a potential one day approval process). Loans can be made by any bank authorized to make SBA loans, and there is authority granted to allow other FDIC bank to make such loans even if they have not previously done SBA loans. Loans must be applied for by no later than June 30, 2020, but obviously sooner is better than later.

Loan Amount: The amount that can be borrowed is capped at the lesser of (i) $10 Million or (ii) 2.5 times the average monthly payments for “payroll costs” over the 12 months before applying for the loan. Payroll costs means payments of any compensation with respect to (i) salaries or similar compensation, (ii) vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave (other than those covered by certain other recent coronavirus response Federal laws), (iii) allowance for dismissal or separation, (iv) payments for the provision of group healthcare benefits, including insurance premiums, (v) payment of any retirement benefit, and (vi) payment of State and local taxes assessed on the compensation of employees. The excess portions of an employee’s compensation in excess of the $100,000 level does not count in the above calculation, nor do taxes imposed or withheld under chapters 21, 22, or 24 of the Internal Revenue Code.

New Jersey Supreme Court Denies Damages for Removal of Neighbor’s Trees

Published on: March 26, 2020 | by John J. DeLaney, Jr.

In April, 2016, I wrote about the New Jersey Appellate Division’s Opinion in Scannavino v. Walsh, 445 NJ Super 162 (App Div. 2016), which set forth the law on the liability of property owners whose trees/vegetation encroaches on the neighbor’s property. In that case, Plaintiff alleged that defendants improperly allowed the roots of trees on their property to cause damage to a retaining wall between the parties’ properties. Because the defendants did not plant or preserve the trees, they were deemed a natural condition for which the defendants were not liable. The Opinion is very helpful in dealing with many situations involving encroaching trees/vegetation between neighbors.

I concluded in writing about the Scannavino case, with “It will be very interesting to see how the nuisance cases “in the middle” (pure “natural” occurrences versus “artificial” conditions) evolve and are determined.” Further, it will be interesting to see if the New Jersey Supreme Court (“the Court”) decides to further clarify the issues and/or adopt the more liberal view (simple reasonable care standard) imposing liability set forth in the Restatement (Third) of Torts §54 (2012).

Well, the New Jersey Supreme Court has weighed in, but I am not sure if the Court has really clarified the issues.

Common Questions About Divorce and Child Visitation During ‘Shelter in Place’

Published on: March 25, 2020 | by Frederick A. D'Arcangelo

As we get deeper into the “shelter in place” requirement imposed by Governor Murphy, stress is more present in our lives every day. Being house-bound is frustrating on so many levels. Couples who are in difficult marriages, or who are going through a divorce (regardless of whether they are separated or living together) face much greater stress on a day-to-day basis while sheltering in place, or while managing things like the exchange of children for parenting time.

I have some basic points of advice for those of you who are contemplating divorce but have not yet taken action, as well as for those of you who have a divorce case which is active. You are both facing the same types of problems which have been aggravated by the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

Here are some practical tips to help you through these challenging times:

COVID-19 and Virtual Divorce Mediation

Published on: March 24, 2020 | by James McGlew, II

The COVID-19 virus has placed the population in a situation the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetime. It has had an impact on almost every facet of our lives. It has raised, and will continue to raise, the stress levels each of us experience in everyday life.

As a family law attorney, I can confirm that it has had a crippling effect on the legal system and its ability to attend to cases. Courthouses are closed to the public. For the foreseeable future, Judges and their staff will be working remotely. The time-consuming process of divorce litigation will face extended future delays.

As an alternative to the delays posed by the virus, I am pleased to offer “Virtual Mediation Services.”

Information on Firm Operations

Published on: March 21, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

To our Clients and Friends:

Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper continues to monitor developments of the Coronavirus and updates to public health policies and regulations issued by Governor Murphy. The health and safety of our personnel, clients and the public continues to be our priority.

All Lindabury offices are taking affirmative steps to protect the safety and well-being of our clients, visitors and employees from COVID-19. Accordingly, we require all persons to first stop at the office’s reception area to be checked in.

New Jersey Adopts Additional Job Protections for Employees Suffering From the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Published on: March 20, 2020 | by John H. Schmidt, Jr.

On March 19, 2020, Governor Murphy signed a new law that grants immediate protection to employees who have or are likely to have an “infectious disease” caused by “a living organism or other pathogen, including a fungus, bacteria, parasite, protozoan, virus or poison, which may or may not be transmissible from person to person, animal to person, or insect to person.” The coronavirus is an infectious disease within the meaning of the law.

Employer Mandates: The law mandates that an employer may NOT terminate the employment of any employee who requests or who takes time off from work based on a written or electronically transmitted recommendation from a New Jersey medical professional that the employee should take time off for a specified period because the employee has or is likely to have an infectious disease. Additionally, the employer may NOT refuse to reinstate the employee to work after the expiration of the leave specified by the medical professional. Reinstatement must be to the same position held when the leave commenced without any additional penalties.

Violations: Any employer violating this new law will be compelled to reinstate the employee to his/her prior position and is subject to a fine of $2,500 for each violation.

The Employer’s Guide to Federal and State Employee Leave Rights and Income Protection for Coronavirus-related Absences

Published on: March 19, 2020 | by Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C.

Updated as of April 1, 2020

In recent days employers have been faced with very difficult and unanticipated situations in the workplace. Employee absences from the workplace, whether related to personal or family illness due to the virus, voluntary or involuntary quarantines, fear of contracting the virus, reductions in hours, workplace furloughs or closures, may implicate leave rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), as well as paid sick leave rights under the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave law. In addition, employees may be eligible for additional income protection from state unemployment, temporary disability and workers compensation funds.

Signed into law on March 18, 2019 the Families First Coronavirus Response Act has several components, including paid sick leave and paid FMLA leave obligations aimed at easing the financial impact of the virus upon employees. This guide synthesizes the various federal and state programs and answers questions about the leave and income protections are available to employees who find themselves unable to work due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Coparenting Arrangements In The Time of Coronavirus

Published on: March 18, 2020 | by Nicole A. Kobis

It goes without saying that the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) is presenting an unsettling and challenging time for individuals across the globe. People are grappling with economic consequences due to employment interruptions and working hard to create a schedule that ensures continuity in their children’s lives.

For individuals who are coparenting and following a parenting time schedule whereby their children split their time between two homes, the current set of circumstances may present a unique set of challenges and considerations. Since there has not been a global incident of this magnitude in recent history with which to compare these recent set of circumstances, there is no model of how divorced or separated parents should handle these challenges.

To the best that you are able, you should continue to adhere to the parenting time schedule that you have already been following. This will provide your child or children with a level of structure and consistency especially given the extended absence from their schools, friends and everyday routines. However, it is also important to be flexible and work together as employment interruptions and childcare needs may force alterations to established schedules. It is understandable that during this time necessary modifications may be in the best interest of your child and children in order to safeguard them or other members of your family from exposure to the virus. Communication is always important as you continue to coparent, and open dialogue is especially crucial during a time like this.