COVID still tops employment law trends for 2021

Q         As we look forward to the new year, what are the top employment law trends we should keep an eye on?

A   COVID has changed how people work in ways that may far outlast the pandemic itself. Many employers are finding remote work is not only possible but also potentially preferable for many jobs that were previously performed in-person. And many employees also like working from home, or at least having greater flexibility to do so.

While many employers may want to extend remote work options for parts of their workforces indefinitely, doing so could raise a host of issues that have only started to emerge from the temporary switch to remote work in 2020. These include problems monitoring and supervising remote work (and adequately documenting performance problems to support discipline), and difficulty ensuring nonexempt employees are properly paid for remote work.

Lawsuits alleging nonexempt employees worked unmonitored hours from home and/or were required to remain “on call” for extended hours in relation to remote work are likely to proliferate. So are lawsuits related to new laws put into effect to address the COVID pandemic, including new sick leave and whistleblower laws.