Nearly two years after enacting the first-in-the-nation permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standard, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (the “Board”) has voted to rescind its COVID-19 standard. The...more
The last four to six weeks have been a whirlwind for private employers across the country. Federal vaccine mandates and regulations have been enacted, and then enjoined, and additional states have limited the ability of...more
12/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Certain states are continuing to prohibit or severely curb the ability of private employers to mandate that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. In just 10 days since our most recent update, several additional states...more
11/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As reported less than a week ago, some states are pushing back on government and private employer vaccine mandates through state legislation and lawsuits against the federal government. In just three business days since that...more
11/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Eight weeks after President Joseph R. Biden’s announcement, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring all employers with at least 100 employees...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As the world closes in on the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the face of stagnating rates of vaccination, governments and employers anxious to return to “normal” have been increasingly...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 26, 2021, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted revised amendments to the Final Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (the Final Permanent...more
On April 26, 2021, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration sent emergency workplace safety rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the Office of Management and Budget for review....more
Given the current political trifecta (where democrats control both houses of the state legislature and the governorship), paid sick leave proponents had high hopes that Virginia would follow other states’ lead and pass...more
4/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Essential Workers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Popular ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On January 27, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that he had approved a Final Permanent Standard (Permanent Standard) for preventing COVID-19 in the workplace, making Virginia the first state in the nation to...more
2/1/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
In the face of rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, on December 10, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order (EO) 72, imposing new restrictions on individuals and businesses in the Commonwealth effective...more
Since the beginning of April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that, when in public settings, individuals wear cloth face masks to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19....more
On July 15, 2020, Virginia became the first state in the nation to implement an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The ETS covers every employer in the Commonwealth and includes mandatory...more
On May 1, as part of Littler’s Virtual Executive Employer, attorney Alka Ramchandani-Raj was fortunate to interview Dr. John Howard, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to...more
Over a roughly two-month period, COVID-19 has completely upended work as we know it. Businesses across the globe have struggled to function with limited staff and resources, restructured their workforces, and implemented new...more
On March 30, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 55 (“the Order”), which incrementally increases the restrictions previously placed on Virginia businesses and residents in response to the current...more
Employers of all sizes are facing unforeseen challenges because of the ongoing public health pandemic resulting from the spread of COVID-19. ...more