It may, once again, be time for employers to review and update their COVID-19 workplace safety policies. In July 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated guidance that employers must be able...more
The new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard mandating various COVID-19 policies and procedures for employers with at least 100 employees (“ETS”) has an uncertain future in light...more
11/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
As employers consider plans to have their workforces return to the office, they are faced with the daunting task of creating a return-to-work program that balances powerful safety, legal, and social considerations under a...more
10/27/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Masks ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
Employers who have been nervous about implementing or enforcing new vaccination policies should be relieved to see the updated technical guidance issued on May 28, 2021, by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more
The initial effective date of June 4, 2021, for New York’s HERO Act (“HERO”) is rapidly approaching, and soon all employers in New York will be required to adopt and implement model airborne infectious disease standards to be...more
5/28/2021
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Masks ,
NYDOL ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Sanitation ,
Workplace Safety
In this program, a panel of Vinson & Elkins’ Labor & Employment attorneys discuss potential changes to workplace laws that employers may expect to see under the Biden administration, including requirements related to labor,...more
12/10/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Wage and Hour ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
We have discussed how employers are obligated to record COVID-19 cases that they have determined are work-related and are confirmed COVID-19 cases, but what happens when an employee who has contracted COVID-19 has to go to a...more
As employers re-open workplaces, the use of rapid COVID-19 testing has proliferated. But if an employer learns of a positive result, is it required to report that result on its workplace injury logs? The answer isn’t so...more
Virginia, as one of 22 states with a federally approved Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) state plan (a workplace safety and health program operated by the individual state which is approved and monitored...more
In its COVID-19 Q&A guidance, the EEOC has concluded that, while an employer may require reliable virus testing as part of its workplace screening procedures, COVID-19 antibody tests are not similarly permissible, at least...more
The guiding principle for employers to follow when asking or talking about individual employees’ health concerns is “data minimization.” In other words, employers should collect and share employee health information only to...more
This week, OSHA released new guidance for employers, giving recommendations on how to reduce worker exposure to coronavirus in the face of the COVID-19 situation – a situation that the World Health Organization has now...more
Although the risk of exposure to the Coronavirus (or “Covid-19”) within most U.S. workplaces is uncertain, employers should nonetheless evaluate their emergency preparedness plans in response to the potential threat. While we...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety