There is a lot going on right now for healthcare employers. The first phase of CMS’s vaccine mandate is in full effect nationwide (now including Texas), the CDC has changed masking guidance in some circumstances, and it has...more
Health care employers are not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the constantly changing legal status of the various federal vaccine mandates. On Thursday afternoon, the Supreme Court made its rulings on two preliminary...more
1/18/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On November 29, 2021, a federal court in Missouri enjoined the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) vaccine mandate in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire,...more
11/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published their much-anticipated rules mandating COVID-19 vaccinations. ...more
11/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
Physicians ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Stays ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
On May 28, 2021, a group of Houston Methodist Hospital employees filed a lawsuit challenging the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees. The lawsuit, filed by 117 employees, was the first to challenge a health...more
9/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Vaccinations
As we have previously written, the landscape for employers in the time of COVID-19, particularly healthcare employers and long term care facilities, is ever-changing and quickly moving. In the last year, healthcare employers...more
8/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Funding ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Mandatory Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations
On June 10, 2021, Dorsey’s Labor & Employment attorneys outlined an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) issued by OSHA. At the time, the ETS was not an official regulation because it had not yet been published in the Federal...more
6/24/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Safety Precautions ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
One of the last pieces of legislation the Iowa legislature sent to Governor Kim Reynolds’ desk for guaranteed signature was a bill banning vaccine passports in Iowa. House File 889 contains several prohibitions regarding...more
6/11/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Governor Reynolds ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Nursing Homes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act is the third phase of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus following two...more
For years, CMS has informally applied restrictions for hospitals which share space, equipment, staff or services in the same physical location (i.e., “co-locate”) with other hospitals or health care entities. Although these...more
On July 1, 2015, the Iowa legislature rolled out what is being heralded as its most significant medical liability reform of the past decade: enabling confidential “open discussions” between health care providers and patients...more