OSHA has advised the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that it is withdrawing the emergency temporary standard (ETS) for employers with 100 or more employees. Formal notice will be published in the Federal Register on January 26. ...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, issued a stay on January 13, 2022 that prevents the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from enforcing or implementing the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) it had...more
A federal appeals court on Friday revived the sweeping vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but its fate remains unclear amid an immediate...more
UPDATED: On November 16, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit based in Cincinnati “won” the lottery. Here is the order. All pending cases challenging the ETS will be transferred to the 6th Circuit and a panel...more
As soon as the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, litigants raced to the courthouse to file multiple challenges to the...more
The Biden administration has modified a September executive order (EO) to extend the vaccine mandate compliance deadline for federal contractors to January 4, 2022.
In a statement, the White House said the change was...more
Update – September 30, 2021: The Task Force issued a set of FAQs regarding the Guidance. Anticipating the upcoming release by OSHA of the ETS (see below), the FAQs make clear that covered contractors and subcontractors must...more
10/13/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Religious Exemption ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations
As part of a multipronged effort to attack the spread of COVID-19, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order (EO) on September 9, 2021 that ramps up safety protocols for federal contractors to include mandatory...more
9/13/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) revised its guidance on May 28, 2021 to provide more specific advice on employers’ use of incentives to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. The good news is that the use...more
6/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Incentives ,
Personal Information ,
Vaccinations
For many employers, the costs related to the COVID-19 vaccine just went down.
On April 21, 2021, President Biden announced that employers with fewer than 500 employees – including tax exempt organizations – can claim a...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is an enormous and intricate piece of legislation that has direct consequence for employers.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, ARPA mandates several important...more
3/16/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Hospitality Industry ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paid Leave ,
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Benefits
On March 6, 2021, the Senate passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), including a $28.6 billion fund to assist restaurants. The relief package now heads back...more
3/9/2021
/ Bernie Sanders ,
Business Closures ,
Business Expenses ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Grants ,
Joe Biden ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Veterans ,
Women-Owned Businesses
Congress has breathed a third life into the Paycheck Protection Program – which appeared all but left for dead a scant week ago – and extended the availability of its potentially forgivable loans until August 8, 2020.
In...more
On June 17, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission weighed in on the question of whether an employer can mandate COVID-19 antibody tests for its employees.
The answer is “No.”
Antibody tests (also called...more
On June 3, 2020, the Senate unanimously approved H.R., 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, or Flex Act, modifying certain provisions of the CARES Act relating to loan forgiveness under the Paycheck...more
On May 22, 2020, a new interim final rule was posted by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides advice to borrowers and lenders concerning SBA’s review process under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The...more
A new Pennsylvania law (Act 9 of 2020) requires Pennsylvania employers to provide notice to employees about unemployment compensation benefits at the time of separation from employment or when an employee’s work hours are...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a webinar on Friday, March 27, 2020 that answers employer queries on the ability to provide a safe workplace while remaining compliant with the Americans with...more
The obligation to provide paid sick leave and paid family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) commences on April 1, 2020 — 14 days after the March 18 enactment. The choice of April 1 nullified the...more
On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security in its effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act provides various forms of economic assistance to employers to address the...more
3/30/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief ,
Unemployment Insurance
New federal and state laws were enacted on March 18 that will require New York employers to provide paid sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19. Outlined below are key paid sick leave provisions affecting employers of...more
3/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Quarantine ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance
Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18, 2020. Most portions of the new law that impact employers will become effective on April 2.
The new law responds to the pandemic by providing free...more
Anticipating layoffs, reductions in hours and absences resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance to states on March 12 addressing the eligibility of affected workers to...more