Today the Supreme Court ordered that OSHA’s ETS be placed back on hold (a/k/a a “stay”) and sent back to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In its order, the Court‘s majority noted the ETS may have gone too far because it...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments on both the OSHA ETS vaccine mandate and the CMS vaccine mandate on January 7, 2022.
On December 17, 2021, we shared with you that the Fifth Circuit...more
CMS Mandate: At the beginning of December we informed you that a Federal Court in Louisiana issued a nationwide stay on enforcement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination mandate. During...more
On Tuesday, December 7, a federal court in Georgia issued an order staying the vaccine mandate for federal contractors (“Mandate”). The Court ordered that the Defendants, which includes President Biden...more
A couple of weeks ago we alerted you regarding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Reports have emerged today that an injunction has been placed upon this CMS requirement...more
On November 16, 2021, a panel on multidistrict litigation announced that a panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will hear the OSHA ETS litigation. All petitions that have been filed will...more
On November 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted OSHA’s latest ETS by issuing an order staying the ETS until the court can conduct a full review. BST Holdings v. OSHA (5th Cir 11/06/2021). The order...more
OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is here! The ETS and related guidance can be found on its website. By December 5, 2021, employers must implement a vaccine policy in compliance with the ETS (choices are a hard...more
The Magic Language:
The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council (FAR Council) was charged with drafting contractual language to require compliance with the guidance from the SAFER Task Force (Guidance)...more
On Friday, September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force) issued its COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (Guidance) as directed by President Biden in an...more
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Biden announced his new COVID-19 plan entitled “Path out of the Pandemic” (Plan). While this Plan includes several provisions, this e-alert highlights a few of those of most interest...more
On August 13, 2021, OSHA updated Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace (Guidance) related to the COVID-19 vaccine and masking.
The Guidance now incorporates the...more
OSHA issued a COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on June 10, 2021 that applied to the healthcare sector. Included in the ETS is an exemption from the masking, distancing, and barrier requirements for employees who...more
8/10/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Guidance Update ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
After many months of mostly virtual enforcement, OSHA is back to in-person site inspections and OSHA enforcement has become a priority for the Administration. As such, businesses should be aware of rights they have and how to...more
On Thursday, June 10, 2021, OSHA finally issued its long-delayed COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) which is effective immediately. However, it applies only to the healthcare sector. Applicable employers must...more
6/11/2021
/ Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Workplace Safety
Today the EEOC updated its FAQ at Section K regarding vaccination requirements in the workplace. It also issued guidance for employees and job applicants entitled “Federal Laws Protect You Against Employment Discrimination...more
5/28/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
OSHA has changed course and is now advising employers they do not need to record employees’ adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines on their OSHA logs. A month ago, OSHA’s position was adverse vaccine reactions had to be...more
In follow up to our last post regarding CDC’s mask guidance, note that today OSHA updated its website to state the following...more
There are two new developments on the OSHA COVID-19 front to report. First, yesterday, OSHA sent a draft of a new, mandatory, temporary emergency standard on COVID-19 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. ...more