President Biden signed into law a House bill on April 10 that immediately ended the COVID-19 presidential declaration of national emergency established in March 2020. The COVID-19 federal public health emergency—a separate...more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new framework on February 25 providing that mask wearing is optional in low- and moderate-risk settings....more
The US Supreme Court issued two decisions on January 13, 2022 in cases challenging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Vaccination and Testing and the Centers for...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On January 7, the US Supreme Court debated a range of complex issues in a pair of oral arguments over challenges to two federal regulations requiring workplace COVID-19 precautions. Although it is unlikely the Court will...more
1/10/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Oral Argument ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On December 17, 2021, a divided panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the federal government’s emergency motion to dissolve the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Occupational...more
12/21/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The fate of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s landmark Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 vaccination is in the hands of the Sixth Circuit—for now. In this LawFlash, we walk businesses through the...more
The Fifth Circuit temporarily stayed the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19, placing it in legal limbo. In addition, state governments continue to take actions related to...more
After long anticipation by US companies and their employees, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its 490-page Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) and preamble on COVID-19...more
11/8/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
President Joseph Biden on September 9 announced his new Path Out of the Pandemic: President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, which describes the president’s six-pronged strategy to fight the pandemic. This sweeping action plan...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated its nonbinding COVID-19 guidance applicable to all industries not otherwise covered by its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The primary purpose of...more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated guidance recommending that fully vaccinated persons in areas with substantial or high rates of COVID-19 transmission resume wearing masks in public...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued important updates to its COVID-19 guidance for employers on June 10. To start, the long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is effective...more
6/14/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a long-awaited update to its technical assistance guidance on COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and other federal...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals on May 13 to state that “fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance” in most...more
While workplace safety standards have been thrust into the national conversation since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement has been relatively quiet....more
As the world awaits a successful COVID-19 vaccine, employers are beginning to consider the implications a new vaccine will have on their workplaces. Although much remains speculative, employers can look to the regulation of...more
11/10/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
Effective immediately, Michigan will require employers to make coronavirus (COVID-19) workplace exposure determinations for all job tasks and procedures, prepare written preparedness and response plans, and implement a series...more
10/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Risk Assessment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its definition of “close contact” to include individuals who spend 15 cumulative minutes within six feet of an individual infected with coronavirus (COVID-19)...more
The outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has created a number of questions and compliance challenges for employers in the United States as well as across the globe. This is a fluid and rapidly changing...more
2/5/2020
/ Airline Passengers ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Discrimination ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
General Duty Clause ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Travel ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Records ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
PHI ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization