Blogs

Employment Law

What Impact Will the Biden Administration’s New Proposed Title IX Regulations Have on Colleges and Universities?

Perhaps you have been on vacation in some remote destination, or your attention has been diverted by other demands, like the House’s January 6 hearings, and you might be wondering: What’s new in higher ed? Plenty. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) officially turned fifty on June 23, 2022. That same…

July 6, 2022

To Mask or Not to Mask: Virginia DOLI Board Votes to Repeal COVID Permanent Standard

On March 21, 2022, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) voted to revoke the Virginia Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (the “Permanent Standard”). The Board’s revocation of the Permanent Standard was the subject of a thirty-day written comment period that ended on March…

March 22, 2022

Employment Law

DOLI Moves to Repeal Virginia’s COVID-19 Workplace Safety Regulations

As summarized in a recent blog post about COVID-19 workplace facemask requirements, Virginia was one of the first states in the U.S. to implement comprehensive emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace safety regulations, with a permanent set of regulations (“Permanent Standard”) implemented in September 2021, by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (“DOLI”) Safety and Health…

February 24, 2022

Employment Law

Are Facemasks Still Required in Virginia Workplaces?

Back in July 2020, Virginia became one of the first states in the U.S. to implement comprehensive emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace safety regulations. Then, on September 8, 2021, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (“DOLI”) Safety and Health Codes Board (the “Board”) approved a permanent set of regulations governing workplace safety standards and disease…

January 28, 2022

Employment Law

Big News for Big Employers: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Reinstates OSHA COVID Workplace Safety Standards for Large Employers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) on-again-off-again COVID workplace safety regulations requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID vaccines for those employees or require face masks and weekly testing (the “ETS”) are back on, reinstated by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision issued on December 17, 2021.…

December 20, 2021

Business and Financial Services

Fourth Circuit Concludes that Title IX’s Prohibition Against Discrimination on the Basis of “Sex” May Extend to Charter School Uniforms

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is straightforward in its prohibition: [N]o person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination [in] any academic, extracurricular, . . or other education program or activity[.] The statute has unquestionably transformed…

August 11, 2021

Business and Financial Services

Tackling the New Normal – EEOC Issues Updated Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplace

With a significant percentage of individuals now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, businesses are beginning to reopen or expand in-the-office activity in Northern Virginia and across the Commonwealth. On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated and expanded technical assistance targeted to answer some of the frequently asked questions concerning COVID-19 vaccinations…

June 8, 2021

Employment Law

Fourth Circuit Nixes Appellate Review of Arbitration Award

Ar*bi*tra*tion – is a procedure in which the parties opt for a private dispute resolution, instead of going to court, by submitting the dispute to one or more arbitrators to make a binding decision. Certain businesses routinely utilize employment arbitration agreements, finding them to be an effective means of dealing with the uncertainties of workforce…

May 27, 2021

Employment Law

Fourth Circuit Adopts Expansive View of Same-Sex Harassment

A recent decision of a panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals offers an important reminder for employers: There is potential legal risk in ignoring or brushing off an employee who comes forward with complaints of sexual harassment by a supervisor — even when the employee and supervisor are both of the same…

May 25, 2021

Business and Financial Services

COBRA Subsidies for Employees and Tax Credits for Employers Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”) into law on March 11, 2021. The $1.9 trillion relief package contains several provisions that will impact employers, including a requirement that employers provide “assistance eligible individuals” (defined below) with fully subsidized COBRA continuation coverage premiums for the time period of April 1,…

April 13, 2021