A global health alarm on the outbreak of a disease or virus raises issues for employers and employees as to the appropriate workplace responses. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring public health emergencies and putting employers’ attention on how to respond.

Proposed changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) EEO-1 report would have employers with at least 100 employees submitting all employees’ W-2 earnings data and actual hours worked beginning with the 2017 EEO-1 reporting cycle.

The U.S. Department of Labor has published proposed regulations implementing Executive Order 13706, requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to give their workers the ability to earn up to seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave each year.