While Congress debates whether to include in the next round of anticipated pandemic relief provisions for immunity for business related to COVID-19 claims, lawsuits are arising at a fast pace. As of July 20, 2020, there have been over 312 labor and employment lawsuits filed, related to COVID-19 injury/exposure liability, per a "COVID-19 Complaint Tracker" prepared by law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth. The cases range from challenges to conditions of employment, including lack of personal protective equipment, exposure to COVID-19 at work, wrongful death, and personal injury. There were also cases involving the WARN Act, unlawful termination, state and federal wage claim, retaliation and leave of absence claims.
In addition to lawsuits, the DOL’s Wage and Hour division has collected over $98,000 in unpaid wages due to noncompliance with FFCRA and employment related litigation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rise across the country. Be sure to stay abreast of the latest information as you continue to charter these choppy waters:
- Additional guidance from DOL W&H: Learn More
- COVID-19 and the ADA, Rehab Act and Other EEO Laws: Learn More
- The CDC has extensive guidance for businesses and updates it regularly. We suggest you start here if you have questions: Learn More
The DOL has also been busy revising its recommended (but optional) forms for the coordination of leave requested under the FMLA. Here are the links to the five certification forms revised in June 2020:
Certification of Healthcare Provider for a Serious Health Condition
- Employee’s serious health condition, form WH-380-E – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee.
- Family member’s serious health condition, form WH-380-F – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee’s family member.
Certification of Military Family Leave
- Qualifying Exigency, form WH-384 – use when the leave request arises out of the foreign deployment of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent.
- Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Servicemember, form WH-385 – use when requesting leave to care for a family member who is a current service member with a serious injury or illness.
- Military Caregiver Leave of a Veteran, form WH-385-V – use when requesting leave to care for a family member who is a covered veteran with a serious injury or illness.
Sheri joined Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. in December 2012 as a Human Resources Consultant. She provides HR consulting services to our customers on a wide range of issues, from specific projects to an ongoing outsourced solution of the human resources function. Sheri has two decades of experience in providing a comprehensive assessment of all areas of HR, including establishing and implementing policies and practices, contract transition efforts/onboarding, and investigations. Sheri’s experience covers a broad spectrum of compensation planning and analysis for total compensation projects, reasonableness assessments including executive compensation, compensation philosophy development, total reward strategies, benefits analysis, market pay and pay equity evaluations. She regularly supports clients with the analysis and mapping of labor categories and the preparation and analysis of wage calculations and supports clients in pricing disputes with DCAA. Sheri has a wealth of experience in navigating the many compliance challenges associated with Service Contract Act and Davis Bacon Act. She has been a valuable resource to our clients in all these areas. She stays abreast of the various requirements of the Department of Labor and, of great importance to government contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, as well as other federal and state regulations impacting human resources. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Sheri served in various roles in the Human Resources arena. While employed by a mid-size government contractor she assisted with database development, recruiting, affirmative action planning and contract proposals. Sheri later became an Employment Specialist with one of the largest employers in Huntsville, where she assisted and led managers in the interpretation and documentation of the progressive disciplinary process, conducted employee investigations and allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and employee disputes, conducted unemployment hearings and conducted new employee orientation. Sheri developed and presented management training, administered facility compensation plan, monitored staffing budgets and wrote job descriptions and handbook revisions.