Pushback against employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccines has stirred media attention in Texas, home to the world’s largest medical complex. Specifically, a nurse working at a hospital in the Houston Methodist system has...more
4/19/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Now that the country is on course to see all adult Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in a matter of days, and an increasing number of employees are returning to the workplace, vaccination status is likely to be an...more
After several weeks of tense negotiations and legislative twists and turns, President Biden’s latest COVID-19 stimulus package – the American Rescue Plan – has been passed by Congress and will become law once the president...more
3/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
While many might be celebrating the first set of public health recommendations that permit relaxed safety standards for fully vaccinated people, employers should not be automatically changing their current safety practices as...more
Contending that he could not be forced to be a “human guinea pig,” a New Mexico detention center officer has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the right of his employer to require first responders to receive the COVID-19...more
Stopping short of completely eliminating quarantine requirements for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just substantially relaxed its recommended...more
With public hesitancy regarding the COVID-19 vaccine still running high, employers are considering whether and how to encourage – or even incentivize – employees to get vaccinated. A significant issue that can be overlooked...more
The vast majority of employers are not considering mandating their employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine, instead choosing to encourage the shot – but a significant number of businesses remain confused and uncertain on...more
Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is becoming increasingly available, how can employers encourage employees to receive it? Beyond requiring the shots as a mandatory condition of employment – which is not an option many employers...more
1/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
President-elect Biden has unveiled an ambitious legislative package that would serve to not only provide a third wave of economic stimulus relief to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but also transform the American...more
1/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and continues to hammer businesses, workers, and lifestyles with record-high infection rates and hospitalizations, companies still face challenges in ensuring employees comply with critical...more
As most know by now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S on Friday, December 11, and the first Americans began to receive the vaccine yesterday...more
The CDC recently adopted a recommendation from an advisory committee that healthcare workers should be the first in line to get COVID-19 vaccine shots after they receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)....more
We have already taken a broad look at workplace law developments likely to emerge under Joe Biden’s administration, unless the political landscape shifts suddenly and dramatically. The healthcare industry is of course already...more
11/16/2020
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Physicians ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Employers of healthcare providers will soon be required to provide paid sick leave and partially paid family leave to a broader category of employees, and all employers subject to the law now have clarification on a number of...more
9/14/2020
/ Consent ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Required Documentation ,
Sick Leave ,
Work Availability Requirement
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
As the flu season approaches and the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employers’ mandatory vaccination policies may soon become more important than ever. For several reasons, those policies will also attract unprecedented...more
8/19/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Influenza ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sick Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In a surprising and significant ruling Monday, a New York federal judge tossed out several key Department of Labor rules regulating the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), meaning that more workers will be able...more
8/5/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Required Documentation ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
As medical offices, clinics, and surgical centers re-open, employers will not only face questions about clinical protocols and recommended steps for disinfecting and safeguarding the workplace from COVID-19, but must also...more
6/22/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just issued interim enforcement guidance regarding respiratory protection, relaxing its standard in light of the nationwide shortage of N95 masks during the COVID-19...more
4/10/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Guidance ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule yesterday to regulate the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) and the paid leave programs that just became law on April 1, 2020. We’ve digested the 124-page document...more
4/3/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
New Rules ,
Paid Leave ,
Rate of Pay ,
Required Documentation ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Wage and Hour
The healthcare industry is truly on the front lines of the nation’s and the world’s response to COVID-19. As a result, healthcare providers, their employees, and affiliates are likely already well-versed on the virus and how...more
3/24/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Leave ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
Fisher Phillips has assembled a cross-disciplinary taskforce of attorneys across the country to address the many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus – especially now that the...more
3/3/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Global Workforce ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
The government just sent a stern reminder to all employers, especially those involved in providing healthcare, that they must still comply with the protections contained in the HIPAA Privacy Rule during the Coronavirus...more
2/13/2020
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Sharing ,
Medical Records ,
PHI ,
Public Health
When a California Court of Appeal revived a workplace lawsuit alleging state law disability discrimination and retaliation claims that had originally been dismissed by a trial court, it did more than decide that the mistaken...more
2/5/2020
/ Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disability Leave ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reversal