Wednesday, OSHA formally withdrew the ETS (large employer "vaccinate-or-test" rule) as a binding, enforceable emergency temporary standard. OSHA took this action after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked OHSA from implementing its...more
1/28/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay of the healthcare worker vaccination mandate (CMS Rule) in 24 states where the CMS Rule had been stayed. The CMS Rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ...more
1/19/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Florida ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Preemption ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Large Employer Vaccine-or-Test Mandate -
In a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court yesterday issued a temporary stay of the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its second stay against OSHA’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring large private employers to “vaccinate or test” their employees (a summary of ETS)....more
11/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Exemptions ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Florida ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Preemption ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As anticipated, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) “vaccinate” or “test and mask” rule for large private employers, issued as an emergency temporary standard (ETS), came...more
11/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
First Amendment ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Yesterday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its new emergency temporary standard (ETS) which generally mandates that private employers of 100 or more employees require employees either to...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
Although the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine has finally arrived, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are facing the new challenge of employees who are reluctant to take it. In Florida and in many parts of the country,...more
1/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Shortly after the CDC granted emergency use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, the EEOC issued new guidance outlining how employers could lawfully and mandatorily require employees to get vaccinated before returning to a...more
1/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Thursday, the EEOC issued additional guidance for employers addressing COVID-19 in the workplace. Notably, the EEOC advised that employers may not involuntarily exclude employees over the age of 65 from the workplace due to...more
As many businesses approach the 30-day mark for “remote working” by the vast majority of their workforces, and debate rages on about how long sheltering in place might be required to effectively combat the community spread of...more
The EEOC has announced that it has temporarily stopped issuing right-to-sue letters for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic unless a charging party specifically asks the agency to issue the notice....more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor published temporary regulations describing how businesses employing less than 50 employees can take advantage of the carve-out included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act...more
Tomorrow (April 1), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act becomes effective and requires employers of 500 or less employees to provide paid sick leave and paid FMLA to all employees for certain qualifying reasons, most...more
With coronavirus effectively shutting down normal operations for many stores and restaurants, owners have begun to transform their business model to include a significant delivery service component; turning hosts, servers,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (COVID-19 FMLA Leave) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave) components of the Families First...more
The nation’s employers have been closely following HR 6201, the U.S. House of Representatives bill that initially provided paid family and medical leave as well as paid sick leave to employees during the coronavirus...more
Over the weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives passed sweeping legislation designed to assist a large segment of the nation’s workforce whose ability to work is or may become impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19)...more
3/17/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety