In conjunction with the Biden administration’s declaration that the COVID-19 national public health emergency ended effective May 11, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would “soon end”...more
6/7/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the Biden administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an interim final rule which required certain workers at...more
5/11/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
The 2023 Virginia legislative session closed last month with substantially less activity than we have seen in recent years, in light of the politically divided government in the Commonwealth. The following briefly describes...more
4/19/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Virginia ,
Wage and Hour
On August 16, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a landmark decision, Williams v. Kincaid, finding that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act protect individuals with...more
Nearly two years after enacting the first-in-the-nation permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standard, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (the “Board”) has voted to rescind its COVID-19 standard. The...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced in a memorandum it will proceed with a highly focused, short-term initiative directed at general medical and surgical hospitals, psychiatric and...more
On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, lifted lower court injunctions that had blocked enforcement in 25 states of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Interim Final Rule requiring...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
There have been significant developments in the legal challenges brought against the interim final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS rule”), which requires vaccination of all healthcare workers at...more
12/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the Biden administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an interim final rule requiring healthcare worker...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Executive Orders ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), establishing new mandatory requirements generally...more
6/11/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the immediate termination of its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. The PAID program began in March 2018 as a pilot program to allow employers an...more
2/2/2021
/ Back Wages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (PAID) ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Wage and Hour
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on May 27, 2020 that the Northern Virginia Region, the City of Richmond, and Accomack County – which delayed implementing “Phase One” of the Commonwealth’s reopening protocol by two...more
When the Democrats took control of the General Assembly in addition to the governorship in the November 2019 election, many predicted an expansion of workers’ rights. That prediction was realized with the 2020 Virginia...more
4/19/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
LGBTQ ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
State Labor Laws ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
In the November 2019 election Virginia gained a Democratic “trifecta”—both legislative chambers and the governorship are now controlled by one political party. It has been over two decades since Democratic lawmakers...more
1/7/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Ban the Box ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Human Rights Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Work ,
Salaried Employees ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
In its most recent session, the Texas legislature passed two bills related to handgun possession in Texas. House Bill No. 910 (HB 910) legalizes open carry of handguns in Texas. Senate Bill No. 11 (SB 11) allows handgun...more