Coronavirus Update 5-15-2020: One that got away … and one that didn’t

There's no such thing as bad publicity. Or at least that's how the saying goes. 

Monday evening I received the following Twitter DM from TMZ Live: "Hey, have any interest in being on TV to comment on a story for TMZ Live via Skype?" Never one to turn down a chance to be a TV, I replied and started the ball rolling towards the segment I was to record via Skype on Wednesday. 

In hindsight, I should have asked for more specifics about the topic I'd be asked to discuss. I assumed that because I curate my online presence around being an employment lawyer (and lately a COVID-19 lawyer) they had reached out because they had a topic in their queue that touched on my professional background. 

I severely miscalculated.

Coronavirus Update 5-14-2020: Workers’ Comp waivers aren’t just a bad idea, they are also almost certainly illegal

Consider this headline from the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Restaurant, fearing coronavirus lawsuit, creates liability waiver. The article goes on to describe a Las Vegas restaurant, Nacho Daddy, which is requiring its employees to sign a waiver of liability before it will allow them to return to work. Says the company's co-owner and president, Paul Hymas, “If someone’s not comfortable with COVID being out there, then they probably shouldn’t be working."

I am not a Nevada lawyer. I know nothing about Nevada employment laws. But, if Nevada is anything like Ohio, workers' compensation is employee's exclusive remedy for any injuries an employee suffers related to work, and an employer would be immune from any other injury claims. 

Coronavirus Update 5-13-2020: Workplace virus screening tools aren’t perfect, but they are at least part of a solution

How do you protect your employees during a pandemic? This is the question this New York Times article asks. As states reopen and businesses recall employees from furlough or temporary work-from-home arrangements, employers are trying to figure out exactly how to best ensure (without guaranteeing) the health and safety of their employees.

Some options highlighted by the NYT piece? Apps that let employees log symptoms, daily health self-assessments, mandatory temperature checks, and immunity badges for those with COVID-19 antibodies. 

Coronavirus Update 5-12-2020: You have every right to be a 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵, and we have every right to fire you for it

"Covidiot: A person who acts like an irresponsible idiot during the Covid-19 pandemic, ignoring common sense, decency, science, and professional advice leading to the further spread of the virus and needless deaths of thousands."

A Dallas law firm has terminated the employment of a document services manager after it discovered his threatening, offensive, racist, and very public Facebook post taking issue with mandatory face masks.

"No more masks. Any business that tells me to put on a mask (Whole Foods on Lomo Alto) in Dallas will get told to kiss my Corona ass and will lose my business forever. It's time to stop this BULLSHIT. Do I have to show the lame security guard outside of a ghetto store my CV19 test results? I will show him my Glock 21 shooting range results. With Hornady hollow points. Pricey ammo, but worth it in this situation. They have reached the limit. I have more power than they do.....they just don't know it yet."

Coronavirus Update 5-11-2020: The 6th(!) set of FAQs from the DOL on the FFCRA

Consider the following scenario.

An employee has been working from home productively and without issue since the state Shelter in Place order took effect. Now, however, he is requesting paid sick leave and expanded FMLA under the FFCRA to care for his children because their school is closed because of COVID-19. You want to: (a) ask the employee why he is unable to continue working from home or if he has pursued alternative child care arrangements; and (b) deny the leave request without a reasonable explanation.

If you carry through with your plan, will you violate the FFCRA?

According to the most recent FAQs published by the Department of Labor, the answer is yes.

Coronavirus Update 5-8-2020: Can you legally refuse to return to work to someone at “high risk” for COVID-19 complications?

As you start recalling employees to your physical workplace from remote work-from-home arrangements or furlough, you are concerned about an employee who has an underlying medical issue that the CDC says places him at a higher risk for complications from coronavirus.

Can you refuse to return this employee to work?

According to recently updated guidance from the EEOC, the answer might be “yes.”

Coronavirus Update 5-7-2020: Things I miss 😢

These are the top 10 things I miss (in no particular order):

1/ Seeing family and friends in person. (happy birthday Mom!)

2/ Hugs and handshakes.

3/ Dining out.