COVID-19 Update October 26, 2020

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Eight days until the presidential election and chances are getting slimmer that anything will be passed in regard to COVID-19 pandemic stimulus. The Senate has confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, solidifying the conservative majority on the court as it is set to consider several high-profile cases in the coming months.

In Louisiana, the battle between the Democratic governor and top Republican officials left the status of the state’s virus restrictions murky. The law at issue, an obscure statute passed in 2003 during the SARS pandemic and never before used, says the Legislature, “in consultation with the public health authority,” can terminate a state of public health emergency at any time by a petition signed by a majority of either the House or Senate. We did just receive notification from the state letting us know that the Governors mandates are still in place and nothing has changed, but it’s interesting that they had to send that out.

SHRM released four more COVID-19-related legal questions that you should be able to answer, including who pays for remote work expenses and other shifting work environment understandings. Accordingly, friendly reminder that the next vlog episode of Dialed in with Delta, where our expert panelists will be advising on how to work from home the right way, discussing ergonomic office design, how to check in on the mental health of your employees, and more. Please register here and mark your calendars for 10 AM on October 29!

Lastly, the IRS has announced that the contribution limits for 401k’s are remaining the same for 2021. Contributions for next year will once again top off at $19,500 with an additional $6,500 catch-up contribution allowed for those turning age 50 or older, but maximum contributions from all sources (employer and employee combined) will rise by $1,000.