Employers were faced with unprecedented challenges in 2020, ranging from ensuring a safe workplace in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving CDC and New York State guidance to managing suddenly remote workforces to significantly reducing workforces. Who would have accurately predicted those challenges in January 2020 as among the primary issues to be faced by employers over the ensuing year?

Related: "Obama 2.0": Attorneys expect major changes to employment law under Biden administration

While most of us eagerly bid a socially distanced adieu to 2020 with the hope that 2021 will bring a return to some semblance of normalcy, employers are not out of the woods just yet. Looking to the year ahead, the issues to be faced by employers will continue to be dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks, while the shift in the federal administration will bring with it a new set of challenges. Below is a summary of issues and challenges employers faced in 2020 and can expect in 2021.