B&F Blog

In August, President Trump issued an Executive Order that offers many American taxpayers a financial "hamburger" in the form of a payroll tax holiday. However, despite guidance from the Treasury Department, it remains unclear when Tuesday will come for them and how they will need to pay up when it does.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued an order that temporarily pauses (or stays) evictions until the end of 2020.

Amanda Farahany, managing partner at Barrett & Farahany, and Christine Green of Stanton Law have co-authored "In Bostock's Wake, Look for More Diversity Training, Sex Bias Cases and LGBT Workers Living Openly."

Amanda Farahany was recently interviewed for an Agenda article entitled "How Companies Contend With Discrimination Charges."

One of the questions we're asked most frequently lately is whether small employers can just decide to "opt out" of their obligations to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Not really.

Now that school has resumed for fall, working parents are again having to juggle work, childcare, and schooling. We want to be sure your workplace rights aren't another source of confusion, so in this blog we revisit the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA) and boil down some key questions and answers the Department of Labor recently clarified about Extended Family Medical Leave (EFML) related to child care and schooling.

American Guardsmen and Reservists have been called to duty to help with a variety of functions related to stemming the tide of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The duties vary by location, but many of you have probably seen military personnel assisting with drive-through COVID-19 testing sites.

Grace Starling wrote the article “Returning to Work & School During a Pandemic: What Should You Do?” for the August 21 edition of Women’s Business Daily.

Two attorneys from the Barrett & Farahany have been named to the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The Atlanta attorneys are Amanda Farahany, the firm’s managing partner, and V. Severin Roberts, a partner.

On August 17, a federal judge in New York ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) not to interfere with anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ patients by pushing forward with rules that the Trump administration wanted to take effect today. The jurist said that the new HHS rules are likely in conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision that federal law bans workplace bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In employee-friendly California, a Superior Court judge ruled that drivers for Uber and Lyft should be reclassified as employees rather than independent contractors. This is important for workers because employees receive job protections that are not granted to independent contractors. These protections include sick leave, wage minimums, workers compensation eligibility, unemployment eligibility, and other job protections.

Every business doesn’t deserve a big fuzzy blanket of protection. We want to encourage continued safety measures by businesses, not have them toss caution to the wind as the Georgia law does and the proposed federal legislation would do.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act that protects businesses and healthcare providers from civil liability for coronavirus-related injury and wrongful death lawsuits.

Barrett & Farahany attorney Adian Miller was a guest on the podcast “The Legalist,” which is produced by Lee Davis Law, LLC. The August 5 program featured a discussion about what employees should do if they think their work could be unsafe because of COVID-19.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate are pushing a bill called “The Safe to Work Act” that really should be called “Less Safe to Work Act.” The bill would shield businesses and healthcare providers from coronavirus-related injury lawsuits. It would introduce significant hurdles for employees, customers and patients who want to sue for corona-related negligence.

There has been a great deal of discussion and handwringing about the idea of kids, teachers, and support staff returning to brick and mortar schools this fall in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

Amanda Farahany has been elected to the Board of Directors of Stand Up for Workers (SU4W), a political action committee dedicated to the needs and concerns of American workers. Amanda is one of seven new board members. The SU4W leadership comprises a diverse group including some of the country's most prominent attorneys whose legal practices are committed to enforcing employee rights. SU4W is a hybrid PAC – it includes a traditional PAC and a super PAC. The organization is unique in that it is not aligned with any union or trade/industry group.

If you refuse work, normally you are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits. But the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has informed state unemployment administrations that workers who refuse unsafe work related to COVID-19 are still eligible for expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government. On the other hand, a worker who lost a job for reasons not related to COVID-19 and can’t find work because work is scarce in the pandemic would not be eligible for the expanded federal benefits.

Partner Kathy Harrington-Sullivan was featured in a story on WSB-TV in Atlanta on July 21. The story looked at the question of whether companies must disclose when employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Labor on July 20 published additional guidance for employees and employers on how the protections and requirements of various workplace laws impact them as businesses reopen during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sometimes good intentions lead to unintended results. Amanda Farahany, managing partner at Barrett & Farahany, and Todd Stanton of Stanton Law, co-wrote the article "Benevolent Discrimination Is Still Discrimination" for the Fulton County Daily Report (subscription required).

The United States Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings on July 8 that will impact employees of religious schools and those whose employer objects to birth control on religious grounds.

It was gratifying for me to see that the bill to protect older Georgians living in long-term care facilities passed the Georgia Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on June 30.

The man many people have come to see as the face of the response to COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci, delivered a disheartening update about the spread of the virus to Congress. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases testified today and scolded the U.S. public and federal officials.

Firm's Managing Partner Received Organization’s Highest Honor Amanda Farahany, managing partner of the law firm Barrett & Farahany, has been elected as a new Fellow in The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Election as a Fellow is the highest recognition by an attorney’s colleagues of sustained outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying integrity, dedication, and excellence.