A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has thrown out most of a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor that allowed employers to get off the hook in many cases when it comes to providing paid sick leave and family leave during a public health crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trump administration’s rule was challenged by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Her office’s lawsuit was supported by Service Employees International and 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East.
Judge J. Paul Oetken granted most elements of the summary judgment New York wanted. He determined that most parts of the rule went against what Congress put into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and in some cases would allow employers to escape having to provide the help to employees that Congress intended.
New York’s lawsuit explained, “FFCRA requires employers to provide paid leave for workers who are or may be infected or need to care for children whose schools have closed, and provides federal payroll tax credits to finance that leave.
“The act covers an estimated 61 million workers ”“ almost 40 percent of the American workforce. The message of the act is clear: stay home, put your family first and be assured you will not suffer unfair economic harm as a result.”
FFCRA provides for up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers at private-sector employers generally with fewer than 500 employees and government entities.
New York’s lawsuit named both the Labor Department and Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia as defendants.
Among the provisions of the rule the Labor Department issued that claimed to be supporting the intent of Congress was one allowing an employer to deny paid leave to a worker by deciding that no work currently is available for that worker.
The FFCRA as passed by Congress did not apply to health care workers and the new rule put into effect by the department vastly expanded the definition of who is a health care worker.
For example, under the Labor Department rule, if a university operates a hospital or offers health care instruction, everyone who works for that university could be classified as a health care worker, even an English professor, security guard or parking lot attendant. If a company has a contract to provide services to a medical practice, employees of that company could be classified as health care workers and be denied paid leave.
The rule also allowed employees to force workers to take all of their available paid leave at once, even if they didn’t need it and despite shifting circumstances in government officials”™ response to the pandemic.
After the judge’s decision was released, James said, “In these uncertain times, individuals throughout New York and across the country are relying on the very paid benefits that the Trump administration is trying to keep them from claiming. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the rights of our people.”
In his ruling, Oetken said, in part, “These restrictions violate both the text and purpose of the FFCRA, and exceed authority granted by Congress. Worse yet, they risk exposing millions of New Yorkers and Americans to the exact harms that Congress sought to mitigate. Unless these restrictions are invalidated, many workers will be penalized for doing what Congress encouraged them to do: stay home.”
There was no immediate word from the Labor Department as to whether it would appeal the judge’s decision.
With laws and lawsuits like this, is it any wonder NY can’t attract jobs and people (and their tax dollars) are fleeing NY?