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Effective May 1, 2021, hospitality and event center workers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will have additional job protection rights. Under the City’s “Hospitality Worker Right to Recall Ordinance,” laid off workers have the right to be recalled – if they are needed – , before new workers are hired.

According to a status report filed in federal court in Massachusetts on April 21, 2021, John Hancock Life Insurance Co., has just settled a class action ERISA lawsuit alleging self-dealing and mismanagement of its employees’ 401(k) retirement plan.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) allows participants and beneficiaries covered by a group health plan to continue their health coverage after a “qualifying event” (typically, termination of employment or a reduction in work hours that causes the employee to lose coverage under the group health plan).

On April 17, Alexandria City Council unanimously passed an ordinance authorizing collective bargaining with City employees, becoming the first municipality in Virginia to do so.

As more states report improvements in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, and businesses begin to reopen, employees face uncertainty relating to return to work and workplace COVID-19 safety measures.

Effective March 12, 2021, employers in New York must grant their employees up to four hours of paid leave for time spent receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The leave entitlement under the new law runs through December 31, 2022.

On March 12, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdrew a controversial proposed rule that would have prevented graduate teaching and research assistants from attempting to unionize at private colleges and universities.

With the reintroduced Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) (HR 1065) currently making its way through the House and expected to be signed into law later this year, the rights of pregnant women in the workplace are in the national spotlight.

Effective March 22, 2021, San Francisco became the latest jurisdiction in California to require large grocery and retail pharmacy stores to pay their workers COVID-19 hazard pay.

On March 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched a COVID-19 workplace safety initiative, aimed at protecting workers who are at high-risk of contracting COVID-19. The initiative comes after President Biden signed an executive order in January 2021 ensuring the health and safety of workers.