Following public hearings and at least 78 public comments, at the end of October, hospitals and other facilities licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) will have new flexibility to require both flu...more
It’s the season of football, fall foliage, and unfortunately, the flu. As the temperatures dip and boxes of tissues begin to fly off the shelves, it’s time for employers to prepare to meet the challenges of cold and flu...more
Growing numbers of private businesses and public entities have announced policies requiring employees and others to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment or as a condition of access to facilities or...more
A New York hospital sought to reduce the transmission of influenza by requiring employees to submit to the flu vaccine or face dismissal unless they could establish a medical contraindication warranting an exemption. A...more
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), employers have a general duty to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards. As cold weather returns, workplaces across the nation will face increased health risks this...more
As the flu season approaches and the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employers’ mandatory vaccination policies may soon become more important than ever. For several reasons, those policies will also attract unprecedented...more
As the number of confirmed positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”) in the U.S. continues to rise, employers must prepare for issues that will inevitably arise as the virus spreads. While the...more
Fear of the coronavirus and flu may cause anxiety among employees who frequently encounter other people, which may lead them to request permission to wear – or to simply wear without permission – a medical mask or respirator....more
Although news outlets may be preoccupied with alarming updates about the spread of coronavirus – including several cases identified in the United States – employers don’t need to panic quite yet. As of today, the Centers for...more
With the outbreak of the corona virus dominating headlines, it is a great time to dust off the company policy on dealing with flu season and infectious diseases, generally, in the workplace. Contagious diseases are...more
In most workplaces across the country, a perfect attendance record will be met with applause. Employees who “tough it out” and sneeze their way through the workday are congratulated, while those who stay at home to nurse an...more
It’s flu season and many employers, particularly those in healthcare, want to require employees to be vaccinated to minimize the spread of illness. But what happens when an employee refuses on religious grounds?...more
If the goals for the healthcare industry could be distilled to a single word, that word would be “quality.” But the manner in which a provider achieves this varies widely. What works for a large system may not be appropriate...more