On July 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) – the agency which investigates and enforces federal antidiscrimination laws in the workplace – updated its guidance across several different areas...more
On January 25, 2022, OSHA filed a notice withdrawing its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). The ETS had mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to...more
1/26/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Starting January 15, 2022, DC will require the following establishments to verify that their guests, visitors and consumers ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine...more
1/12/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
Effective December 21, 2021, through at least January 31, 2022, DC law requires that all individuals wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. As we previously reported, just last month DC Mayor...more
On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, dissolved the stay previously placed on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) by the Fifth Circuit. The ETS mandates employers with 100 or...more
12/20/2021
/ 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 ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Following up on two recent federal court decisions enjoining the enforcement of the contractor vaccine mandate, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) has issued guidance, posted on the Safer Federal Workforce Task...more
12/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On December 7, 2021, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate requirements issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force in...more
12/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On December 7, 2021, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate requirements issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force in...more
12/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the COVID Vaccination Leave Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (“Emergency Act”), which requires employers to provide paid leave to employees and their children for time spent obtaining...more
On November 30, 2021, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate requirements issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force in response...more
12/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctions ,
Non-Delegation Doctrine ,
Scope of Authority ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that on November 22, 2021, the District’s indoor mask mandate – one of, if not the most restrictive mask mandate – will be significantly scaled back. ...more
Federal government contractors and subcontractors have been dealing with a steady stream of new FAQs and details regarding the COVID-19 safety requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors first announced by...more
11/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, OSHA released an “unpublished” version of its new Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) mandating that employers with 100 or more employees require all employees get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Today, the Biden Administration issued a Fact Sheet related to the new OSHA emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring vaccination or masking for employers with more than 100 employees and the new Centers for Medicare and...more
11/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Federal government contractors and subcontractors have been scrambling for weeks to try to digest and implement the COVID-19 safety measures issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) in the wake of...more
11/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) has released additional frequently asked questions and answers (“FAQs”) regarding its Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors on implementing COVID-19...more
10/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As previously reported, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14042 (“the Order”) last month. The Order requires, in part, that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“the FAR Council”) amend the Federal...more
10/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Model Contract Clauses ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has released a set of frequently asked questions and answers (“FAQs”) regarding the Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (the “Guidance”) it issued last week. ...more
10/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) issued Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (the “Guidance”), advising covered federal contractors and subcontractors of their...more
9/27/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As previously reported, the Biden Administration issued an executive order on September 9, 2021 setting forth new COVID-19 safety protocols for certain federal contractors (the “Executive Order”). The Safer Federal Workforce...more
9/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a host of vaccine-related initiatives, reported on here. One of those initiatives is an Executive Order which requires contractors to implement the guidance to be...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an Emergency Temporary Standard that will require all employers with...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On July 29, 2021, President Biden announced that “to help protect workers and their communities,” all employees of federal contractors working onsite at government facilities will be asked to “attest to their vaccination...more
7/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced “an emergency temporary standard to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus.” The standard...more
Quick Hit -
As we previously reported, Virginia became the first state to issue mandatory COVID-19 workplace safety rules via an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) executed on July 15, 2020. The temporary standard...more