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
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
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
Employers may feel confused about the status of the lawsuits that blocked the OSHA Vaccine mandate-or-test ETS from going into effect as originally planned. Not only do you feel stuck in a litigation limbo, but you can’t make...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
In a terse 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its preliminary stay that blocked the mandate-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) late Friday, further complicating the status of...more
Citing potential “grave statutory and constitutional issues” with the mandate-or-test emergency vaccine rule unveiled by OSHA on Thursday, a federal appeals court just issued an order blocking the ETS from taking effect on a...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
With many current COVID-19 safety protocols dependent on vaccination status, verification and vaccine mandates continue to raise unique confidentiality and privacy considerations for employers. Here are some important points...more
As part of his administration’s plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden recently announced a “six-pronged, comprehensive national strategy” to use every tool at his disposal to enforce vaccine and testing...more
Democrats recently introduced a budget bill that proposes significant changes to employers nationwide – including massive hikes to penalties in cases where workplace safety officials find employers out of compliance. What do...more
Coming on the heels of Kentucky’s record-high number of COVID-19 infections, dozens of employees of St. Elizabeth Healthcare just filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Covington against the hospital in response to its...more
In arguably the most far-reaching move of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration announced Thursday that federal workplace safety officials will soon issue a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more...more
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) recently updated its COVID-19 control measures in response to the resurgence of positive cases across the state, and all employers regardless of industry will be expected to take...more
9/10/2021
/ Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Day Care ,
Educational Institutions ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Pre-Schools ,
Private Schools ,
Public Schools ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Employees ,
Universities ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
President Biden just announced a directive to the Department of Health and Human Services to require nursing homes mandate the COVID-19 vaccine of all employees or lose Medicare and Medicaid funding. Responding to the...more
Almost six months after President Joe Biden directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine whether emergency temporary standards (ETS) concerning COVID-19 were necessary, OSHA finally issued the...more
6/14/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
First Responders ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sick Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Responding to a huge looming question for employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just issued an announcement referring businesses to the CDC’s new guidance advising that fully vaccinated people no...more
5/19/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
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
Almost a year after issuing strict COVID-19 restrictions on businesses, including some tighter industry-specific requirements, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear just issued new Minimum Requirements for All Entities to ease up on...more
Starting on July 2, 2021, Kentucky’s state labor cabinet will no longer be allowed to adopt safety standards more stringent than what federal law requires, as state law will now run parallel to federal workplace safety...more
On the final day of the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2021 session, it fulfilled one of its top legislative priorities: enacting a new law that provides personal injury liability protections against COVID-19-related claims to...more
While many might be celebrating the first set of public health recommendations that permit relaxed safety standards for fully vaccinated people, employers should not be automatically changing their current safety practices as...more
President Biden wants to “help ensure unemployed Americans no longer have to choose between paying the bills and keeping themselves and their families safe from COVID-19.” Specifically, he has instructed the U.S. Department...more
3/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Job Applicants ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Compensation System ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Workplace Safety
At the beginning of its 2021 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly vowed to fast track a bill to provide civil tort immunity to businesses for damages arising on their premises from COVID-19. On February 15, less...more
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the use of a face mask to help stop the spread of the virus. State and local governments followed suit, in some cases...more