Judge Creates Regulatory Vacuum, Mass Confusion on Paid Leave

A federal judge this week muddled the state of pandemic paid leave policy by voiding key aspects of an emergency Labor Department regulation, a decision that’s left employers, workers, and their attorneys scrambling for answers.

The confusion is most extreme in the health-care sector after the Manhattan judge ruled Monday that DOL overstepped its authority by issuing a “vastly overbroad” definition of health-care providers who are exempted from the temporary requirement to provide workers with paid sick and family leave related to Covid-19.

But the court vacated this definition, along with other aspects of the rule, without giving clear instructions ...