Michigan grants additional penalty waiver due to COVID-19: The Michigan Department of Treasury is waiving penalty and interest for the late payment or late filing of any sales and use tax or withholding tax return (including the quarterly return) due April 20, 2020. Any payment or return originally due April 20, 2020 may be submitted by May 20, 2020. The waiver includes the sales, use, and withholding returns due on April 20, 2020 as a result of the prior 30-day penalty waiver. Therefore, taxpayers originally required to file returns on March 20, 2020 have until May 20, 2020 to file and remit payments. The notice can be viewed on the department’s website.  Source: Notice, Michigan Department of Treasury, April 14, 2020.

New York’s Attorney General files lawsuit against FFCRA temporary regulations:  On April 14, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor, challenging its rule that, as the AG sees it, unlawfully narrows workers’ rights under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to paid sick leave and emergency family leave during the pandemic. At the same time, the AG also filed a motion for summary judgment asking the federal court in the Southern District of New York to block the regulations and to restore the FFCRA to its intended effect. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the regulations unlawfully deny paid sick leave and emergency family leave to otherwise eligible employees if the employer determines—for any reason—that the employer does not have work for the employee; and enables the denial of the FFCRA’s paid sick leave and emergency family leave benefits to large classes of otherwise eligible workers by including them in an unlawfully broad definition of "health care provider." The lawsuits also question the lawfulness of the intermittent leave provisions under the regulations, which limit intermittent leave to certain of the qualifying leave conditions, and only if the employer affirmatively agrees to allow it, as the AG notes. Unless the employer agrees, all paid leave must be taken in "one continuous period" under the regulations.  Source:  CCH 4/20/20

Ford’s approach to reopening plants: A dozen Ford Motor Co., an ASE member, workers are experimenting with wearable social-distancing devices that could be deployed more widely once the carmaker reopens idled manufacturing plants.  The small group of volunteers at a Ford factory in Plymouth, Michigan, are trying out watch-like wearables that vibrate when employees come within six feet of each another, said Kelli Felker, a company spokeswoman. The aim is to keep workers from breaching the distance that health experts recommend to avoid spreading the Coronavirus.  The social-distancing device could be part of a broader array of new safety protocols Ford deploys as it resumes production as early as next month after at least a roughly six-week shutdown. The automaker is also expected to subject all workers entering a facility to a thermal-imaging scan to detect a fever. And it will provide staff with masks and, in some cases, plastic face shields, Felker said.  The company is devising the measures along with the United Auto Workers union. In near real-time, workers receive a vibration and a color-coded warning on the watch to let them know when they are closer than six feet to another person. Supervisors also receive alerts and reports that can be used to monitor social distancing and clustering in the workplace, according to Radiant.   Source:  Bloomberg 4/15/20

OSHA has developed a COVID-19 Interim Response Plan:  On April 13, OSHA announced an interim enforcement response plan for the COVID-19 pandemic that provides instructions and guidance to OSHA Area Offices and compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs or inspectors) for handling coronavirus-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports. The memorandum, Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is time-limited to the current public health crisis; it was effective immediately and remains in effect until further notice.   Under the interim enforcement plan, OSHA should investigate complaints, referrals, and employer-reported fatalities and hospitalizations to identify potentially hazardous occupational exposures and to ensure that employers take prompt actions to mitigate hazards and protect employees.  OSHA has received complaints about the lack of personal protective equipment such as respirators, gloves, and gowns; a lack of training on appropriate standards; and possible COVID-19 illnesses in the workplace.  In most cases, Area Offices should process complaints from non-healthcare and non-emergency response establishments as "non-formal phone/fax," following the non-formal complaint and referral procedures in the Field Operations Manual (FOM), CPL 02-00-163 (September 13, 2019). OSHA will forward complaint information deemed appropriate to federal partners with concurrent interests.  Source:  OSHA

COVID-19 is giving rise to lawsuits:  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employers still face the challenge of keeping up with constant changes in legislation, regulations, and health and safety guidance. Over the past several weeks, employers have been dealing with a new challenge in the form of employee lawsuits alleging wage and hour, safety, and WARN Act violations related to the pandemic. With respect to OSHA, a growing trend is employees accusing employers of failing to take measures to protect employees from exposure to COVID-19 and allegedly retaliating against those employees who complain about the lack of safety measures. Employers should review their reporting processes and  ensure that supervisors know to take all complaints seriously and document them. "Every complaint or concern needs to be documented and escalated to a health and safety point person. Maybe that point person needs more support now," says Kent Schmidt, a partner at Dorsey &Whitney.  “And don’t fire employees who raise safety concerns,” says Schmidt.   Source:  CCH 4/20/20

EEOC updates its COVID-19 guidance: On April 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) again updated its technical assistance publication that addresses questions arising under the federal equal employment opportunity laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, expands on a previous publication that focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. New questions and answers regarding return-to-work situations, making reasonable accommodations, and harassment were added.   Source:  EEOC