COVID-19 Blog

Workers at McDonald’s and Amazon are invoking the doctrine of public nuisance to sue their employers for what they allege are unsafe working conditions. The employees claim that their employers did not take adequate precautions to protect them, and ultimately the public with which they interact, from the risk of COVID-19 infection. This legal theory is not often used in the context of the employee/employer relationship because other mechanisms already exist to protect workers, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). Furthermore, worker’s ...

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing employers of all sizes to reduce their largest expense - payroll. A suddenly popular option is an employee “furlough,” which is an unpaid leave of absence, as opposed to layoffs. Employers choosing to furlough employees typically do so with the hope that economic conditions will improve so that employees can return to work, to maintain goodwill and, if possible, continue certain employer-sponsored benefits such as health insurance. However, employers must take care to understand how furloughs work, what their legal obligations are and decide whether it is advantageous or not.