The Supreme Court just blocked OSHA’s vaccine ETS from being enforced for the foreseeable future, meaning your compliance to-do list has gotten significantly shorter – but it has by no means disappeared. While today’s 6 to 3...more
In one of its final moves of the year, the National Labor Relations Board announced in late December that will reconsider the current legal standard for determining whether workers are independent contractors or employees....more
Perhaps no workplace law issue has generated more controversy in recent memory than the battle over the Biden administration’s vaccine rules currently being waged at the Supreme Court. The good news? By accelerating the...more
1/3/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The nation’s highest Court has announced it will step in and rule whether the Biden administration’s aggressive workplace vaccine strategy – including a mandate-or-test rule for larger employers and a strict mandate for...more
In one of the more shocking developments in a year full of surprises, a federal appeals court breathed new life into the Biden administration’s mandate-or-test emergency vaccine rule with a stunning Friday afternoon decision....more
Not 24 hours after a Missouri federal court temporarily blocked the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 10 states, a Louisiana federal court took one giant step...more
A staggering 94% of employers reported that they have experienced more difficulty than normal in retaining and recruiting workers in 2021, with more than half (53%) reporting “severe” difficulty compared to normal times. And...more
With the spin of a wooden raffle barrel in a D.C. court clerk’s office and the random selection of a ping-pong ball, the fate of President Biden’s ambitious vaccine mandate-or-test rule could have been sealed. Late Tuesday...more
Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
A sharp increase in pandemic-related workplace litigation this summer could spell trouble for employers, as we expect to see a steady increase in COVID-19 lawsuits filed by employees across the country. That’s just one of 10...more
9/8/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Small Employers ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
In an unexpected blow to gig economy companies in California, a state court judge just reversed the will of voters and overturned the law created by ballot measure that ensured that app-based rideshare and delivery drivers...more
8/24/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Ridesharing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
The news this morning that the federal government fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could be a pivotal milestone in the fight against the coronavirus – especially when it comes to employers’ role in the battle. After...more
The proportion of employers mandating or considering mandating the COVID-19 vaccine increased nearly four-fold in the past three months, spurred by fears surrounding the Delta variant and the growing confidence that such...more
With the Delta-variant-fueled surge of COVID-19 cases leading to new CDC masking guidance, statewide mandates, and the specter of further restrictions, employers have a renewed interest in seeing the vaccination rate of their...more
Bolstering the renewed emphasis on increasing the number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, a recent memo from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that just became public confirms that the “emergency use”...more
The EEOC kicked off the unofficial start of summer with a bang by clearing the way for employers to offer their employees incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine in new guidance released on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend....more
6/1/2021
/ Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family Members ,
Gifts ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The announcement yesterday from the CDC that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any non-healthcare setting was a welcome relief for all Americans and a hopeful sign that we have...more
It’s been said that from crisis comes opportunity. And given that the COVID-19 pandemic has handed us the greatest collective crisis in our lifetimes, it should stand to reason that we should now be in the perfect position to...more
5/3/2021
/ Business Operations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Gig Economy ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Relations ,
Legal Operations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh didn’t beat around the bush when he provided his first public thoughts about the gig economy workforce since assuming office. In an interview with Reuters released on Thursday, Walsh said “in a...more
President Biden’s latest infrastructure proposal – called the American Families Plan – includes a plan that would establish the nation’s first permanent federal paid leave program. Unveiled on April 28, the proposed...more
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
Most businesses are eager to return their workers to their physical workspaces and envision the majority of them putting remote work behind them once the pandemic is over. That’s according to a recent Flash Survey conducted...more
4/5/2021
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Automotive Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Professional Workers ,
Professors ,
Remote Working ,
Retail Workers ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Teachers ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommuting ,
Transportation Industry
If a consortium of businesses have their way, the federal government will be forced to adopt and enforce the rule proposed by the Trump-era Department of Labor that was about to make it easier for businesses to classify their...more
A unique legislative proposal pending in Connecticut would upend the way that gig economy businesses interact with their workers – and has drawn both strong support and vocal dissent from the very group of individuals it is...more
We knew it had been coming, but the Biden recently made it official: the Department of Labor announced it wants to rescind the gig economy rule that was originally crafted under President Trump’s tenure and was about to make...more