The COVID-19 pandemic has become a real challenge for state policy in the field of socio-economic relations in most countries of the world, including Russia. It caused a crisis in both the economy and the labor market. In such conditions, it is necessary to adjust the socio-economic policy of Russia as quickly as possible. At the same time, one of the leading directions of changes should be recognized as the transformation of labor legislation in order to adapt to the conditions of emergency situations. On the one hand, it should continue to promote the protection of workers' labor rights, especially in terms of their life and health, employment and income. On the other hand, labor law should not ignore the interests of employers in order to ultimately preserve the employment of citizens. In a number of Russian regulations, there are references to the specifics of labor regulation in the event of an emergency. However, these norms are clearly not enough for such a force majeure as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the existing regulations cause a lot of problems in the law enforcement process. The measures that are now being taken by the Russian state to prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 infection and minimize its adverse consequences, partly help to solve the problems that have arisen. However, they are adopted on an emergency basis, since there is no corresponding legislative regulation of such issues. In addition, a number of theoretical questions arise. So, for example, new to the science of labor law are the issues of establishing remote work, non-working days, self-isolation and social distancing.