OSHA requires employers to record COVID-19 vaccine adverse reactions: On April 20, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance regarding employers’ obligation to record adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.  The guidance, which is in the form of answers to three frequently asked questions, clarifies that if an employer adopts a mandatory vaccination policy, an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is recordable on an employer’s OSHA 300 log if the reaction is: (1) work-related; (2) a new case; and (3) meets one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 C.F.R. 1904.7. According to the guidance, if an employer requires employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment (i.e., for work-related reasons), then any adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is work-related.  Therefore, the adverse reaction is recordable in the OSHA 300 log if it (i) led to the employee missing more than one day of work; (ii) required medical treatment beyond first aid; or (iii) resulted in restricted work or transfer to another job. Employers that recommend the vaccine, but do not require it, do not need to record adverse reactions.  Read more in this week’s EPTW article: One More Employer Vaccination Concern – OSHA Reporting  Source: Prokauer 4/21/21

EEO-1 reporting season has begun:  2019 and 2020 EEO-1 demographic reporting filing opened on Monday, April 26, 2021, and employers will have until Monday, July 19, 2021 to submit their data for those two years. The snapshot data must be for a pay period in the 4th quarter of the previous year.  Each year, employers with 100 or more employees (and federal contractors with 50 or more employees) must file EEO-1 report, which consists of demographic information, such as race, gender and ethnicity information, of the employer’s workforce by EEO job category.  There is no pay reporting required in this reporting period.  In addition, the reporting tool is a new tool (new vendor) and we hope has an easier upload than the previous tool used for this reporting.  ASE has been told it is similar to the Component 2 reporting upload from 2019, which was a fairly easy upload.  However, online submission will only be available until the upload function is available sometime by end of May.  For more information go to https://eeocdata.org/

More guidance on PPP Loan deductions:  The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2021-20 for certain businesses that received first-round Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans but did not deduct any of the original eligible expenses because they relied on guidance issued before the enactment of tax relief legislation in December of 2020.  Under prior guidance, businesses that received PPP loans to cover payroll costs, interest on covered mortgage obligations, covered rent obligation payments, and covered utility payments could not deduct corresponding expenses.  With the Dec. 27, 2020, enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, businesses now may claim these deductions even though they received PPP loans to cover original eligible expenses. These businesses can use the safe harbor provided by this guidance to deduct those expenses on the return for the immediately subsequent year.  Source:  IRS 4/22/21

Employer tax credits available for employees getting vaccinated:  The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department gave further details of tax credits available under the American Rescue Plan to help small businesses, including providing paid leave for employees receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, can receive a tax credit for providing paid time off for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine. For example, if an eligible employer offers employees a paid day off in order to get vaccinated, the employer can receive a tax credit equal to the wages paid to employees for that day (up to certain limits).  Source:  IR-2021-90

The Paycheck Fairness Act passes the House:  The Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to eliminate the gender pay gap and strengthen workplace protections for women, passed the House of Representatives on Thursday in a 217-210 vote.  The bill, which was reintroduced by House Democrats in January, has been met with opposition from some business groups who say it could threaten bonuses, prohibit employees from negotiating higher pay, and make it easier for “trial lawyers to file large class-action suits against employers.”   Unless the filibuster is eliminated, it will face an uphill battle in the Senate.  The Act may be campaign fodder for the 2022 mid-term elections. Source: CNBC 4/16/21 

DOL Wage and Hour turning back the clock – Are you prepared?  Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), announced that effective April 9, 2021 the Agency would return to pursuing pre-litigation liquidated damages. Before June 23, 2020, the WHD sought liquidated damages in particularly egregious cases of intentional violations upon the concurrence of the Solicitor’s Office.  The Trump administration stopped that practice.  However, according to  Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-2, WHD “will return to pursuing liquidated damages from employers found due in its pre-litigation investigations provided that the Regional Solicitor (RSOL) or designee concurs with the liquidated damages request.”  WHD investigations will be ramped up to find scofflaws.  For more up-to-date information on Wage and Hour please attend the Compensation & Benefits Conference Series. Source:  DirectEmployers 4/19/21