New regulations to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was enacted in 2023, will soon take effect. Yesterday, April 15, 2024, the EEOC unveiled its final rule, which will take effect 60 days after its anticipated...more
As of September 13th, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL-WHD) is partnering with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to focus on “enhanced law enforcement” through information sharing, joint...more
Under federal guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as long as they comply with federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and disability....more
2/23/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Fines ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Immunization Records ,
Independent Contractors ,
Religious Exemption ,
Right of Conscience ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Tort Claims Act ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On Monday, November 22, the Kansas legislature met for a special session in direct response to federal action mandating COVID-19 vaccination for certain employees. The Governor signed HB2001 on November 23...more
Under federal guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated COVID-19, and private businesses can permit entry and service only to vaccinated individuals, as long as they comply with federal...more
7/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Mandates ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Religious Exemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations
On May 28, 2021, 117 unvaccinated nonmanagerial employees from Houston Methodist Hospital filed a lawsuit to challenge the hospital’s vaccine mandate in Jennifer Bridges et al. v The Methodist Hospital. This appears to be the...more
On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated guidance for employers. This long-awaited guidance clarifies that employers can require COVID-19 vaccinations and even provide incentives...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Incentives ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Per recent federal employment law guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of...more
Per recent federal employment law guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of...more
3/5/2021
/ Adverse Action ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Children and Families (DCF) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Emancipation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immunization Exemptions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Minors ,
Nursing Homes ,
Opt-Outs ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Punitive Damages ,
Religious Exemption ,
Required Documentation ,
State Health Departments ,
Students ,
Vaccinations
In this episode, Husch Blackwell's Meg Pekarske is joined by colleagues Jenna Brofsky, Erica Ash and Wakaba Tessier who provide an update on the legal landscape related to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Their conversation...more
1/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As COVID-19 vaccination begins in the United States, employers should begin preparing to support vaccination and consider how workplaces will be impacted. There are still many unknowns, and plans will have to remain flexible....more
Widespread COVID-19 vaccination is considered critical for many employers to return employees to work safely and resume normal business operations in the future. As such, many employers have been asking whether they can...more
As we reported in our recent commentary, voters in five states in the 2020 general election passed initiatives to legalize marijuana usage. As the success of these ballot initiatives suggest, despite marijuana’s...more