On August 3, an Obama-appointed federal judge in New York State nullified key sections of the U.S. Department of Labor’s rules governing paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Of greatest concern to construction, the decision invalidates previous DOL guidance restricting paid leave during layoffs and furloughs, as well as the DOL rule requiring employer consent to paid intermittent leave, and finally the rule requiring employees to provide documentation before taking leave. (The judge
also declared unlawful the broad definition of “health care providers” who had been exempted from the leave requirements.)
The decision obviously creates many issues for construction industry employers who have been obeying the DOL rules now declared to be unlawful. ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin addressed the impact of the court decision in his webinar about the FFCRA, on August 4, 2020. If you missed the webinar, you can watch on ABC archive.
