Employers who are conducting automatic COVID-19 testing of employees or gathering test results of employees’ families should beware: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued new guidance limiting the...more
7/25/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On January 13, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court prevented President Biden’s vaccination or testing mandate for large employers (issued as an OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)) from being enforced. The Court allowed the...more
1/19/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Employers implementing mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies are facing an avalanche of requests for exemptions as religious accommodations, far more than for medical exemptions. ...more
10/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Medicare and Medicaid certified facilities will be required to ensure that their employees are vaccinated for COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on September 9, 2021. ...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Employers screening for COVID-19 should consider updating their screening and other protocols following new guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and a new study on how long the coronavirus can live on...more
10/26/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Offering eligible workers the option to suspend the employee share of Social Security payroll taxes through year-end may sound good at the moment, but concerns about next year are leaving many employers wary. Indeed, the Wall...more
9/15/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Moratorium ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Social Security ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Tax Deferral ,
Trump Administration
Screening employees for symptoms of COVID-19 is critical to limiting both the spread of the virus and a company’s exposure to claims that it did not do enough to protect its employees. But screening itself can create other...more
As restaurants and bars struggle to remain viable in the midst of the pandemic, they are confronted with the additional threat of lawsuits by employees and customers. Restaurants and bars should take steps now, both to...more
7/17/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Workplace Safety
After many agonizing months of the COVID-19 pandemic causing closures and record-low occupancy rates, hotel owners and operators finally can begin reopening and welcoming back guests. In doing so, they must navigate the...more
As employers contemplate or commence reopening, they should be cognizant of potential workplace claims which are likely to escalate in the COVID-19 era....more
5/18/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Employers face a myriad of issues in thinking through whether and how to re-open for business after mandatory closures, or how to thoughtfully phase out teleworking models currently in place for ongoing enterprises....more
Once an employee has been exposed to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, what do you do? Once an employee has tested positive, what do you say?...more
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 finally acknowledged that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a pandemic. That designation changes the rules for employers....more
3/13/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
Healthcare providers have special concerns for their employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health emergency....more
3/11/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Pharmaceutical Distribution ,
Pharmacies ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Screening Procedures ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
World Health Organization
The global health crisis created by the explosion of Coronavirus cases is requiring employers to navigate uncharted waters. Circumstances are changing daily, and employers must be agile in responding....more
3/10/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety