Effective communication key to mitigating COVID-19 employment litigation risks
August 19, 2020
Zach Olsen and Andrew Longstreth recently authored an article for the New York Law Journal on effective communication strategies that can be used to alleviate employment litigation risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As expected, the employment litigation machine has been revving up since the onset of the pandemic. From March 1 through July 4, the third-largest category of COVID-19-related complaints filed in federal courts was employment, just behind contracts and insurance, according to Lex Machina.
The deluge of employment-related litigation may be just beginning. As the pandemic continues to confront employers with myriad challenges, like new shutdown orders and school closings, lawsuits will likely keep surging. Indeed, in June, while contracts and insurance cases declined from the previous month, employment cases spurred by COVID-19 continued to climb.
These employment lawsuits run the gamut, making claims under an alphabet soup of acronyms. They include the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (EMFLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Then there are the state and local laws.
Continue reading on the New York Law Journal.