COVID-19 brings unique litigation trends

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a new breed of employment litigation over the last two years. The lawsuits are the result of, among other issues, employers requiring health screenings, vaccinations, and quarantining; employees seeking reimbursement of expenses for working from home; allegedly unlawfully deprived COVID-related accommodations; and workplace vaccination and safety issues.

The macro view, by the numbers

The Littler law firm has issued a litigation tracker of lawsuits filed between March 2020 and March 2022. California is home to 235 of the 2,500 federal lawsuits,  which is par for the course. But 1,556 of the 3,152 state cases are in California as well.

Recognizing that most cases involve more than one claim, there were more than 23,000 claims made in litigation during that two-year span. Nationally, 850 cases were brought under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Over 3,000 cases alleged retaliation, over 2,000 alleged disability discrimination, another 1,700 alleged wrongful discharge, and 600 alleged age discrimination. Over 500 cases raised issues regarding vaccines.

Over 900 claims were based on the California Labor Code or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), plus thousands alleged overtime, meal and rest break, and Industrial Wage Order violations.

Manage and track work hours

Although employees may be working remotely, it remains employers’ obligation to keep track of all hours worked. Your employees and supervisors must be trained to do so, with shared clear understandings of what employees may or may not do during scheduled work hours.