In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, on July 14, 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law SB20-205, the “Healthy Families and Workplaces Act,” which provides new sick leave benefits for workers in Colorado.

On November 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at ensuring fair access to banking services and eliminating  politically-driven, “de-banking” practices used to deny access to financial services to disfavored industry sectors based on ideology rather than quantifiable risk-based factors.

On November 19, 2020, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) proposed sweeping and significant new emergency standards to reduce employee exposure to COVID-19.

On November 20, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court amended Supreme Court Rule 23 to allow unpublished Rule 23 orders issued on or after January 1, 2021 to be cited for persuasive purposes.

In an uncharacteristically employer-friendly decision, the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, held that employees could not recover both unpaid minimum wages and one-hour premiums for unpaid rest break claims.

 In the matter of Abedin v Osorio, decided on November 12, 2020, New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department granted the defendants’ motion for access to the plaintiff’s Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram accounts on the ground that such discovery was “reasonably likely to yield relevant evidence.” 

We are now less than two months out from the December 31, 2020 deadline for Illinois employers to ensure that all employees have completed mandatory sexual harassment training. Employers who have not yet complied should immediately arrange for such training, as companies that are not in compliance will be subject to civil penalties.

In response to the COVID-19 emergency, on October 27, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court issued Order M.R. 30370 expanding its Rules 45 and 241 to include remote jury selection for trials in civil cases. The Order is an attempt by the court to safely balance the continual need for access to justice for the citizens of Illinois with the necessity of protecting the Seventh Amendment right to a jury in civil matters.