On August 4, 2022, the Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. This comes at a time where the number of cases in the United States are rapidly rising and with cases found in...more
The World Health Organization (WHO) director general declared the current outbreak of monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Similarly, San Francisco declared a public health emergency due to the...more
Several cases of monkeypox has now been found in the United States. We do not yet know whether employers will need to worry about monkeypox in the context of their workforces and workplace, but it may be wise to be informed. ...more
On October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated and expanded COVID-19 technical assistance, “What You Should Know...more
10/26/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Notice Requirements ,
OIRA ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
On October 13, 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson allowed a new law addressing mandated COVID-19 vaccines for employees to go into effect without his signature. Senate Bill 739’s primary sponsor, Senator Kim Hammer, made...more
10/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Hutchinson ,
New Legislation ,
Opt-Outs ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The number of U.S. workers choosing to be vaccinated plateaued earlier this summer. As a result, employers, many of which hoped to return employees to the workplace in early fall, were left to debate whether to require...more
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the activities in which a “fully vaccinated” individual can engage. These new guidelines apply in non-healthcare settings....more
Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addressed age discrimination issues related to COVID-19. Based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) explanation that...more
Each year we review the validity of mandatory flu vaccinations. It is usually in the context of health care organizations, as few other employers have had the same need. In the last few years, the analysis has remained the...more
Childcare is an essential component of any return-to-work plan. Without it, employees may assert that they are unable to return to work or may seek to continue to work remotely....more
On May 17, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a 60-page document entitled CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up...more
The recent spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States has caused employers to be increasingly concerned and uncertain regarding the future of their workforces. Below are some answers to frequently asked...more
3/9/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Management ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
It appears that we are in “hurry up and wait” mode. We know that COVID-19 (i.e., the 2019 Novel Coronavirus) has been diagnosed among individuals in the United States, and, reportedly, has been contained. We also know that...more
2/26/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Dow Jones ,
Emergency Response ,
Global Economy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain
As the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak continues to develop, a number of workplace issues have arisen, including issues of quarantine, medical testing, and pay, and proactive employers are taking steps to protect...more
Employers with employees traveling to and from China may want to take note of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement on January 21, 2020, that the United States had confirmed its first case of a...more
On May 17, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 880 individual cases of measles had been confirmed in 23 states across the country in 2019. According to the CDC, the current outbreak of...more
With flu season here and reported incidents of deaths caused by diseases thought to have been eradicated by vaccines on the rise, many healthcare providers are considering mandatory vaccination of employees. The Centers for...more
12/31/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Human Rights Act ,
OSHA ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
Print, air waves, and social media have all been filled with stories of women accusing Harvey Weinstein of grossly inappropriate (if not, criminal) behavior over a long period of time. There is much discussion of who knew...more
In the ever-changing healthcare industry, one consistent trend has emerged in recent years—a shift from physicians being employed by physician-owned practices to physicians being employed by larger healthcare entities. In the...more
On March 15, 2017, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a ruling that enjoined the Trump administration’s revised executive order intended to suspend admission of foreign nationals from six designated countries. On March 16, a...more
Following the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)—employers were told to refrain from asking employees whether they were disabled. The employer community took this...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued information on protection against disability discrimination in the form of four revised documents. The federal agency issued these guides, which are included...more