UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court held a special hearing on January 7, 2022, and is expected to rule soon on whether OSHA may proceed with its Emergency Temporary Standard for large employers. The Court is also considering...more
On January 4, 2022, and faced with record numbers of COVID-19 cases in New York State, the New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) issued Interim Updated Isolation & Quarantine Guidance. The Interim Guidance aligns...more
New York City has released its anticipated vaccine order for private businesses alongside a workplace vaccine requirement webpage containing interpretative guidance and other helpful links. The new vaccine order generally...more
12/16/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
New York ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
UPDATE: A federal appeals court (the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals) permanently blocked OSHA’s vaccine rule on November 12, 2021, citing to “serious constitutional concerns” with the rule. This is not the end of the...more
11/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has released its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) pertaining to workplace COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for employers with 100 or...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has published guidance regarding employee cannabis use. We previously reported on the amendments to New York’s off-duty conduct law—New York Labor Law Section 201-D—which now...more
11/4/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
New Guidance ,
NYDOL ,
Proprietary Information ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trade Secrets ,
Workplace Safety
The EEOC has updated its technical guidance and answers in a document entitled What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. The updated guidance adds six religious...more
10/28/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Religious Exemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
The New York State Department of Health Commissioner has extended the designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health in New York State” until...more
The Biden Administration, via its Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”), has now provided the guidance with which federal contractor and subcontractors must comply in connection with their contracts and...more
10/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Contact Tracing ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations
...The New York State Commissioner of Health has designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.” This means that the HERO Act’s many requirements...more
The Biden Administration yesterday unveiled its Path out of the Pandemic – a six-pronged plan designed to further combat COVID-19. Employers have already struggled to deal with the bevy of ever-changing COVID-19...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State Commissioner of Health has designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.” This means that the HERO Act’s many requirements are...more
The NYC Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) has released updated enforcement guidance regarding the Fair Chance Act. New York City amended the Fair Chance Act last year and those changes will go into effect on July...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has released its HERO Act minimum standards and template policies related to airborne infectious disease prevention. Employers now have 30 days after the standards’ publication...more
It’s been a long road to recovery for employers since New York first issued its NY Forward reopening requirements for offices and other similar environments back in May 2020. Today, as New York reached a key vaccination...more
It’s been a busy month (year?) for New York employers – one that has brought several important updates with respect to employers’ reopening plans. On the heels of the State’s May 19th adoption of the recent CDC guidance...more
This post was revised on May 19, 2021 to reflect relevant updates.
On May 5, 2021, New York enacted the Health and Essential Rights Act (the “HERO Act”). The new law seeks to address continued COVID-19 safety concerns in...more
On May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”) published guidance indicating that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear a mask or physically distance in certain indoor and outdoor...more
New York’s off duty conduct law will now explicitly apply to an employee’s off-duty use of cannabis. The change in law came as a result of the recent passage of “The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act,” which generally...more
The New York State Legislature recently passed the Health and Essential Rights Act (the “HERO Act”), which has been delivered to Governor Cuomo for his signature. The legislation seeks to address continued COVID-19 safety...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued model notices regarding COBRA premium assistance (a/k/a COBRA subsidies). As we wrote about here, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”), Congress sought to...more
As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York employers must now grapple with another new paid leave requirement from New York State. A new law signed by Governor Cuomo on March 12, 2021 amends New York’s...more
As COVID-19 vaccines become more available, employment-based programs requiring or incentivizing employee vaccination will become more commonplace. In a previous post, we covered recent employer guidance from the CDC, with a...more
2/24/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State’s Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) recently issued new Quarantine Leave guidance for 2021 – guidance that is certainly controversial in that it seemingly goes beyond the statutory text of the NY COVID-19...more
The New York City Council has expanded NYC’s Fair Chance Act to further restrict NYC employers from taking adverse actions against applicants or employees based on their criminal history. The law will go into effect on or...more