It was March 11, 2020 – three years ago – that a series of earth-shattering events occurred over the course of a few hours that would forever change the nature of the workplace. Most of us remember exactly where we were on...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Welcome to another edition of FP’s Healthcare Snapshot. We continue to focus considerable attention on developments exacerbated by COVID-19, particularly those related to staffing and regulatory issues, which persistently...more
After the news yesterday that a federal court judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for airplanes, mass transportation, and transit hubs, many employers immediately wondered what it might mean for their business. Though...more
4/19/2022
/ Airlines ,
Business Travel ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
Public Health ,
Transportation Industry ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety
Welcome to our latest Healthcare Snapshot, where we take a quick look at some of the most pressing issues facing employers in the industry. Even though COVID-19 numbers are generally trending in a positive direction,...more
4/18/2022
/ Caregivers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
Mental Health ,
NLRB ,
Nurses ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Federal workplace safety authorities just announced that they are accepting additional comments regarding a final permanent standard that will address COVID-19 exposure in healthcare settings. According to the March 22...more
For the second time in a week, key members of the healthcare provider community are the focus of an announcement promising more pandemic-related scrutiny from a federal agency. The Occupational Safety and Health...more
Welcome to FP Snapshot on Healthcare, where we take a quick look at some of the most significant current workplace law issues, including hot non-COVID-19 issues, with an emphasis on the practical impact of how they affect...more
2/23/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Mandates ,
Exemptions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Shortage ,
Nurses ,
Physicians ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Since we first explained the CMS vaccine mandate (the Interim Final Rule (IFR) from the Centers from Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all staff at covered facilities), the mandate has...more
The Supreme Court blocked OSHA from enforcing the vaccine mandate-or-test ETS and the agency responded Tuesday by shelving the emergency rule altogether. In some ways, these two developments mean that the pathway for...more
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
1/26/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentives ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OSHA ,
Tax Liability ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Immediately after blocking OSHA’s “shot or test” ETS, the Supreme Court held Thursday that the CMS vaccine mandate can be enforced by a 5-to-4 margin. This effectively removes the injunctions that had been blocking...more
In a surprise move, the Supreme Court failed to resolve either of the two pending workplace vaccine cases yesterday morning despite having announced a special decision day that led most Court observers to think that yesterday...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court just blocked OSHA’s vaccine ETS from being enforced for the foreseeable future, meaning your compliance to-do list has gotten significantly shorter – but it has by no means disappeared. While today’s 6 to 3...more
Perhaps no workplace law issue has generated more controversy in recent memory than the battle over the Biden administration’s vaccine rules currently being waged at the Supreme Court. The good news? By accelerating the...more
1/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Serving up yet another curveball for healthcare employers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively reactivated the CMS vaccination mandate across nearly half of the country with a surprise decision on Wednesday...more
In a terse 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its preliminary stay that blocked the mandate-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) late Friday, further complicating the status of...more
Note: This CMS Rule refenced in this Insight is separate and distinct from the OSHA ETS that was issued on November 4. Thus, although the CMS Rule could also be challenged in court, the November 6 court order blocking...more
11/9/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Entities ,
Enforcement ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Rules ,
Preemption ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just updated its online COVID-19 technical guidance to further explain its position regarding religious objections to employer COVID-19 vaccination requirements,...more
10/27/2021
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
As vaccine mandates increase, employers may face yet another headache in the continuing stream of pandemic-related concerns: employees presenting fake cards when asked to establish proof of vaccination. What can you do if you...more
“Are you fully vaccinated?” This seems to have become a million-dollar question that employers want to pose to their workers, but confusion abounds regarding the legal contours of this deceptively dangerous question. Many...more
Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order immediately restricting entities in the state – including employers – from compelling any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccination if that individual...more
10/14/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Abbott ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Texas ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The overwhelming majority of employers cite fear of turnover and staffing shortages as a reason not to implement a vaccine mandate at their workplaces – but is this fear being overestimated? Out of the 1,578 respondents that...more
The proportion of employers mandating or considering mandating the COVID-19 vaccine increased nearly four-fold in the past three months, spurred by fears surrounding the Delta variant and the growing confidence that such...more