On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court (“Court”) issued two critical decisions: one staying the OSHA ETS vaccine or test mandate, the second allowing the OSHA CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare facilities to...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
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
On December 17, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which was chosen via lottery as the federal appellate court to decide whether the OSHA ETS, i.e., the private employer vaccine mandate, would go...more
12/24/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Motion to Dissolve ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On Thursday, November 4, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) rolled out temporary emergency standards (“ETS”) implementing COVID-19...more
The entire country has been abuzz about President Biden’s Plan for “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated.” The Plan would require private employers with 100 or more employees (“Covered Employers”) to ensure their workers are...more
With the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine obtaining full FDA approval and President Biden’s sweeping announcement that he will be requiring federal employees, employers with over 100 employees, and many others to require vaccines or...more
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides $1.9 trillion dollars in economic stimulus for individuals, certain companies, and municipalities. This blog focuses specifically on what the ARP means for employers....more
4/5/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EFMLA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Pensions ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
There were rumors that with the new stimulus deal that Congress would extend FFCRA leave, but that turned out to be fake news. Upon reviewing House Speaker Pelosi’s press release discussing the stimulus deal it became clear...more
With the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine for mass consumption, we hypothesized in our piece titled “Can Employers Make Employees Get the COVID-19 Vaccine,” that employers would be able to require employees to get the vaccine...more
With two COVID-19 vaccines set to receive federal approval in the United States in the upcoming weeks, the next question is whether employers can make employees receive the vaccine....more
On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Jeff Beemer and I conducted a webinar of the same title as this blog. In that webinar, we discussed the top concerns employers face as they seek to re-open their businesses under the relaxed...more
Evolving developments and news surrounding COVID-19 (the “coronavirus”) has prompted immediate action from employers and businesses worldwide. While many businesses have been forced to temporarily shut down, the ones that...more
President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020, marking the largest economic recovery package in U.S. history. The $2.2 Trillion rescue legislation provides $150...more
For those employers still working on how they will comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Department of Labor has issued a number of Q&A guidelines aimed at helping employers administer Emergency...more
In light of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201 (FFCRA) passing into law, we put together a top ten list of questions employers have about the FFCRA....more
On March 16, 2020, Michigan’s Governor issued Executive Order 2020-10 (COVID-19). The Michigan Executive Order provides that, effective immediately and through April 14, 2020 at 11:59 pm, Michigan employees will be permitted...more