The increase in the frequency of violent confrontations faced by healthcare workers in the workplace is prompting OSHA to pursue a standard for Prevention of Workplace Violence in the Healthcare and Social Assistance...more
A new COVID-related bonus from the State of Minnesota is coming “to thank those Minnesotans who worked on the frontlines during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency.” Certain employers who employed frontline workers in Minnesota...more
While the term “caregiver” is not identified as a protected class under federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, workplace decisions that adversely impact job applicants and employees who are also caregivers can still...more
On March 23, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice in the federal register announcing a limited re-opening of the comment period regarding OSHA’s final standard to protect...more
Throughout the COVID pandemic, healthcare employers have navigated the challenge of balancing safety concerns with employee requests for religious exemption from the vaccine. Since lifting the stay of the CMS rule requiring...more
3/14/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
On February 9, 2022, California reinstated COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, which took effect on February 19, 2022, but will apply retroactively from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. SB 114, the 2022 COVID-19...more
For many healthcare employers, phase one and phase two COVID-19 vaccine deadlines are either here or quickly approaching. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), in an exercise of enforcement discretion, has begun...more
On January 13, 2022, in per curiam opinion National Federation of Independent Business et al., v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, et al., the Supreme Court stayed OSHA’s COVID-19...more
1/14/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
General Duty Clause ,
Lack of Authority ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Friday, January 07, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a rule promulgated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) requiring healthcare workers at specific facilities participating...more
1/11/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Injunctions ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On January 7, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a slew of emergency applications for a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). OSHA’s ETS requires...more
On December 15, 2021, in State of Louisiana et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) effectively revived the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Interim Final...more
On June 9, 2021, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued a new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) with the scope of the ETS limited to certain workplace settings that are defined as healthcare...more
6/29/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Manufacturers ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On March 22, 2021, former two-term Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor in a 68-29 Senate vote. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) supported Walsh’s nomination as Secretary of Labor due in...more
5/13/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Tipped Employees ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Wage and Hour