Welcome to our latest Healthcare Snapshot, where we take a quick look at some of the most pressing issues facing employers in the industry. Even though COVID-19 numbers are generally trending in a positive direction,...more
4/18/2022
/ Caregivers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
Mental Health ,
NLRB ,
Nurses ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Federal workplace safety authorities just announced that they are accepting additional comments regarding a final permanent standard that will address COVID-19 exposure in healthcare settings. According to the March 22...more
For the second time in a week, key members of the healthcare provider community are the focus of an announcement promising more pandemic-related scrutiny from a federal agency. The Occupational Safety and Health...more
The Supreme Court blocked OSHA from enforcing the vaccine mandate-or-test ETS and the agency responded Tuesday by shelving the emergency rule altogether. In some ways, these two developments mean that the pathway for...more
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
1/26/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentives ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OSHA ,
Tax Liability ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In a surprise move, the Supreme Court failed to resolve either of the two pending workplace vaccine cases yesterday morning despite having announced a special decision day that led most Court observers to think that yesterday...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
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 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
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
Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order immediately restricting entities in the state – including employers – from compelling any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccination if that individual...more
10/14/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Abbott ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Texas ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The overwhelming majority of employers cite fear of turnover and staffing shortages as a reason not to implement a vaccine mandate at their workplaces – but is this fear being overestimated? Out of the 1,578 respondents that...more
The CDC’s recent recommendation that people in geographic areas with substantial or high COVID transmission rates wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, has added a new wrinkle in the already challenging world...more
8/3/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday that the agency now recommends that people in areas with “substantial” and “high” COVID-19 transmission should wear masks indoors, regardless of...more
7/28/2021
/ 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
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
Now that most states, the CDC, and OSHA have (or may soon) lift mask mandates for vaccinated workers, what is an employer to do about revealing an employee’s vaccination status? Under any relaxed masking guidance applicable...more
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
As the flu season approaches and the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employers’ mandatory vaccination policies may soon become more important than ever. For several reasons, those policies will also attract unprecedented...more
8/19/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Influenza ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sick Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
As medical offices, clinics, and surgical centers re-open, employers will not only face questions about clinical protocols and recommended steps for disinfecting and safeguarding the workplace from COVID-19, but must also...more
6/22/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just issued interim enforcement guidance regarding respiratory protection, relaxing its standard in light of the nationwide shortage of N95 masks during the COVID-19...more
4/10/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Guidance ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
The healthcare industry is truly on the front lines of the nation’s and the world’s response to COVID-19. As a result, healthcare providers, their employees, and affiliates are likely already well-versed on the virus and how...more
3/24/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Leave ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
Most people probably do not enjoy sitting in a doctor’s reception area with other coughing and sneezing people while waiting for an appointment, or devoting hours to getting a prescription refilled. The concept of...more
2/9/2018
/ Best Practices ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Provider-Sponsored Health Plan (PSHP) ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As most in the healthcare industry know, the United States Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its scrutiny of the industry. According to OSHA, more workers are injured in the...more
How should an employer respond when it learns that an employee is planning a trip to West Africa to visit family? What if other employees refuse to come to work because they fear that the returning employee may have been...more