One of the provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act that is not getting many headlines is the expansion of tax credits for the employers who voluntarily offer the paid sick leave and/or expanded paid family medical leave previously required under FFCRA.
The Bennett Law Firm announces with pleasure that Pawel Binczyk has joined the firm as an associate attorney in its Portland office.
Pawel graduated from Amherst College, earning a B.A., cum laude, in English. Thereafter, he attended The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law where he earned his J.D., cum laude, served on the Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy as well as the National Trial Team, and was a recipient of the Michael F. Curtin Pro Bono Award.
Pfizer and Moderna are distributing their vaccines for COVID-19 for front line workers and high-risk individuals, creating feelings of increased optimism for 2021. However, perhaps due to the quick development of the vaccines, a significant percentage of the population continues to express doubt about getting inoculated.
In our last E-Alert, we reminded you that, absent any last-minute action by Congress, the mandated paid sick leave and expanded paid FMLA were both scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020. With that expiration the tax credits available to employers to cover the cost of the mandated paid leave would also lapse.
Congress worked through the weekend to finalize additional COVID-19 relief legislation. Although not yet final at the time of writing, all reports indicate that the new bill does not extend the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave expansion (EFML) for parents, both of which Congress passed as part of the FFCRA in March.
Although college has taken on myriad different shapes for students this year, it remains both an exciting and anxiety-inducing time for parents. In addition to the academic and social navigation that parents fret about when their college aged child lives independently and often far away, health and safety have taken on an out-sized role for many parents against the backdrop of the current global pandemic.
On January 1, 2021, Maine becomes the first state in the nation to mandate that employers provide their employees with general-purpose paid time off. After over a year of rulemaking and review, the Maine Department of Labor has issued regulations interpreting the new statute.
Cases of COVID-19 are increasing in some states due to each Governor managing the public health crisis in his or her own way. New England states currently have lower positivity rates than many others and Governor Charlie Baker wants to keep it that way in Massachusetts.
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-anticipated ruling that sexual orientation and gender identity fall within Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s sexual discrimination protections and thus, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees for being homosexual or transgender.