On June 17, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its COVID-19 guidance (scroll down to A.7) to state that employers cannot require employees to take COVID-19 antibody tests in order to return to work. Although employers are allowed to take employee temperatures and to test for current COVID-19 infection, the EEOC says that antibody testing violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
After near shutdown of the U.S. economy in March and April, most employers have been bringing employees back to work. Some experts, eager to prevent further disruption, have suggested using serologic (antibody) testing to identify those who have had the virus and therefore may be eligible to safely return. Some companies have been marketing antibody testing programs to employers.
Dear NC Bar Association International Law & Practice Section members,
The NC Bar Foundation is partnering with Legal Aid of NC and others to offer COVID-19 (Virtual) Legal Hotlines across North Carolina (like “mini-4ALLs,” but held remotely). The Hotlines will be staffed by volunteer attorneys and open to the public. We need your help for the Hotline taking place this Friday, June 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will serve the Triad region. Currently, we have only two immigration law attorney volunteers signed up for the first shift and zero for the second shift. Can you join us?
The NCBA has been hard at work during this pandemic to bring current information, resources, practice tips, professional vitality publications, and wellness seminars to its members and the public, while also advocating strongly for the legal profession in North Carolina. May was NCBA Member Appreciation Month, which featured free workshops through the Center for Practice Management. As new members are entering and graduating law school, passing the Bar, and becoming members of the legal profession and the NCBA, we have started holding New Member Receptions.
Even though we cannot get together in person right now, we can still hang out! Indeed, one of the things that our Association does best and our members enjoy the most is associating. The NCBA is the home for those in, or entering, the legal profession in North Carolina. Through the NCBA, you can meet your fellow lawyers, judges, paralegals, and law students to discuss how to be better at what you do, expand your options, serve the profession and the public, grow your network, and have some fun. This is the power of association.
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On May 30, 2020, the Industrial Commission issued an update to its mediation policies effective June 1, 2020. The updated policies are below:
May 30, 2020 Update: Industrial Commission Mediation Policies as of June 1, 2020
Consistent with current directives and recommendations as detailed below, as of June 1, 2020, mediations in Industrial Commission cases may be conducted either in person or remotely by consent, though mediators have been advised by the Dispute Resolution Commission that mediations shall, to the fullest extent possible, be conducted remotely.
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Update from the North Carolina Industrial Commission
Deputy Commissioner Hearings (Non-Medical Motion Hearings) will resume in June 2020 via Webex. Below is information from the Industrial Commission’s website concerning the current policies/procedures for these hearings:
The Commission is pleased to announce that Deputy Commissioners will resume hearing all types of workers’ compensation cases in June 2020 through the use of Webex technology. This policy is consistent with Chief Justice Cheri Beasley’s May 21, 2020 Order directing judicial officials to “make use of remote hearing technology to the greatest extent possible to limit in-person appearances” and will help prevent a future backlog of Deputy Commissioner cases.
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The Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee (JJAC) met on May 15. The meeting began with a presentation from William Lassiter, Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice. While the goal of the presentation was to provide data on trends since implementation of raise the age and the resulting resource needs, the presentation included information and data about juvenile justice system trends during this unprecedented pandemic. The data left me wondering—can changes in juvenile justice system utilization during the pandemic teach us lessons for the functioning of the system outside of a pandemic?
Update from the North Carolina Industrial Commission
The Industrial Commission has issued the following policies for Full Commission hearings, Deputy Commissioner medical motion hearings, and Executive Secretary’s Office informal hearings, which have been posted to the NCIC website. These policies are effective June 1, 2020. Policies for Deputy Commissioner hearings (non-medical motion hearings) and mediations to be held as of June 1, 2020 will be announced shortly.
In normal times, our section dues are carefully budgeted for use throughout the year for substantive reasons related to the work of the Section, communicating that work to you and getting you involved, as well as face-to-face networking and other personal interaction. This spring, most of the activities for which the Section budget allocated funds have been canceled or moved online due to the COVID-19 emergency. Under NCBA rules, there are, of course, restrictions on how and when Section funds can be expended and what happens if they are not expended by the end of the NCBA fiscal year.
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Do you need a listening ear during this time? BarCARES is here for you now and always to provide support during any difficult time. Available 24/7 via telehealth (video + audio) or telephone, BarCARES is a confidential, short-term counseling program, cost-free, for members of the NCBA and law students at participating schools.
BarCARES can help all of us as we try to manage and balance family, work, and study in the face of the unknown future. Skilled professionals available through BarCARES assist in dealing with depression, anxiety, financial concerns and marriage and family conflicts, as well as professional stressors. In these challenging and uncertain times, why not utilize a benefit of your NCBA membership and ask for guidance?
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Thank you all for being members of the Litigation Section! As you know, your Section membership offers numerous benefits, such as networking opportunities, discounted CLE rates, and the opportunity to read and publish on our blog.
Because of COVID-19, we are living in strange and challenging times, unlike anything any of us have ever seen during our careers. Attorneys, judges, courthouse officials, legal staff, and our clients are all doing their best to adapt to social distancing and public health recommendations that make operating a business and maintaining a litigation practice much more difficult. New rules and recommendations are being written and revised nearly every week, and it is a constant challenge to stay up to speed on the latest developments.
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