With the COVID-19 pandemic, employers generally had broad discretion to require employees to take COVID-19 tests before entering the workplace. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has recently...more
Key Takeaways of the Court’s Rulings: OSHA cannot enforce its vax-or-test ETS covering all employers with 100 or more employees, and employers have no obligations under it. However, the CMS mandate affecting certain health...more
1/14/2022
/ Administrative Authority ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court has announced that, on January 7, 2022, it will hear oral argument on challenges to two of the Biden administration’s significant rules regarding COVID-19 vaccination and testing in the workplace: OSHA’s...more
On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a nationwide stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) which requires employers with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccination or regular testing of...more
As November came to an end, federal courts across the country continue to examine and issue preliminary rulings on challenges to various COVID vaccine mandates put in place by the Biden Administration. At the beginning of...more
12/1/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Notice and Comment ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Subcontractors ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to stay OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (the “ETS”) regarding vaccines and testing for employers with at least 100 employees (see our...more
As President Biden previewed in a September speech, many employers with 100 or more employees will be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or regular testing and masking for employees. Key details of the Emergency Temporary...more
11/5/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Preemption ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued its “Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors,” (the “Guidance”) setting forth the COVID-19 safeguards that are to be required of federal...more
9/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Masks ,
Prime Contractor ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed executive orders that will require that all federal executive branch workers to be vaccinated for COVID-19 (the “Federal Employee Order”) and that this standard be extended to...more
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced his administration’s “action plan” for finding a “path out of the pandemic.” President Biden has directed OSHA to develop a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Private Sector ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On July 27, 2021, the CDC revised its advisory guidance - providing that even the fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors in public if in an area of “substantial or high transmission.” The CDC has provided a map...more
On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), a mandatory workplace safety rule aimed at protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19. OSHA also...more
With the new CDC guidelines and diminishing number of COVID cases, returning to work has taken center stage. We are still seeing few employers mandate vaccination for employees (and this trend is reported in the news)....more
6/7/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
New Guidance ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), fully vaccinated employees no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any...more
President Joseph R. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) on March 11, 2021, which provides $1.9 trillion in relief funds for individuals and businesses in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This...more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits
Late on December 21, 2020, Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package (referred to herein as the “Act”), which extends and modifies several provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act...more
12/23/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business ,
Unemployment Benefits
Since this article was originally published, the EEOC issued guidance on December 16, 2020 specific to the use of the COVID-19 vaccine in the workplace. The EEOC’s guidance was consistent with our original article. However,...more
When the COVID-19 vaccination becomes readily available, can private employers require employees to take the vaccine? The short answer: Probably, provided employers are mindful that, depending on the work performed,...more
On September 14, 2020, Governor DeWine signed into law H.B. 606 (the “Good Samaritan Expansion Bill”), aimed at stimulating the reopening of Ohio’s economy by granting sweeping immunity from lawsuits relating to the...more
The Department of Labor has clarified and revised its temporary rule (the “Rule”) implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) in response to a federal court’s ruling that certain parts of the Rule were...more
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Memoranda allowing for the deferral of employees’ payroll tax obligations. Notably, this Presidential Memoranda does not change any obligation to pay these taxes; it...more
On April 16, 2020, the Trump administration published “Guidelines: Opening Up America Again.” The Guidelines are not binding; individual states must decide if and/or how to incorporate the Guidelines. The Guidelines include...more
As of April 14, 2020, at least 42 states and the District of Columbia have issued directives to keep people at home, including employees of non-essential businesses as defined by each location’s respective orders. Even many...more
On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act provides states with the ability to greatly expand their unemployment benefits programs through...more
The leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) take effect on April 1, 2020. In preparation, there is additional guidance as to four common inquiries...more