By Adam R. Young, Melissa A. Ortega, A. Scott Hecker, James L. Curtis, Brent I. Clark, Benjamin D. Briggs, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 11, 2022, the CDC, through a press release, eased its COVID-19 guidance to “help us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer
Continue Reading CDC Eases COVID-19 Guidelines
By Samantha L. Brooks, Karla Grossenbacher, and A. Scott Hecker
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 12, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance for employers on the interplay of workplace bias laws and COVID-19 workplace testing, vaccinations, and other return-to-work issues, including reasonable accommodations and access to employees’ confidential medical information. Employers continue to face these
Continue Reading In Policy Pivot, EEOC Revises Pandemic Guidance To Move Away From A “Direct Threat” Analysis and Focus on “Business Necessity” As Employers Return Employees To The Workplace
DOL’s 2023 Priorities, Per Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. Additional personnel topped Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s wish list for 2023 as he laid out next year’s proposed budget at a hearing in front of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. During the hearing, Secretary Walsh was candid: “To be completely honest, I need more
Continue Reading Seyfarth Policy Matters Newsletter – May 20, 2022
By Adam R. Young, Brent I. Clark, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA is rolling out an aggressive COVID-19 enforcement program to inspect “high hazard” employers, as well as re-inspect those healthcare employers who have received COVID-19 complaints in the past.
In March 2022 at the ABA OSHA conference, OSHA enforcement leadership publicly declared the “COVID-19
Continue Reading COVID-19 “Endemic” is Not Over: OSHA is Opening New COVID-19 Programmed Inspections
By Benjamin D. Briggs, A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: CDC’s new COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation calculator “takes the stress out of deciding when, and for how long, individuals with COVID-19 and close contacts need to stay home, get tested, and wear a well-fitting mask.”
The new CDC calculator may
Continue Reading CDC Publishes New Quarantine and Isolation Calculator
By Chantelle C. Egan, Bernard Olshansky, Patrick D. Joyce, and Ilana Morady
Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 28, 2022, California’s Governor Newsom issued a press release lifting California’s mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, downgrading the former requirement to a strong recommendation, effective March 1, 2022. The same day, the California Department of Public Health
Continue Reading California Loosens Indoor Masking Requirements for the Unvaccinated
By James L. Curtis, Brent I. Clark, Mark A. Lies, Adam Young, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that “U.S. healthcare workers experienced a staggering 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, based on employer-reported data, as
Continue Reading OSHA To Address Soaring Injury Rates at Healthcare Facilities
By Daniel I.Small and Robert S.Whitman
Seyfarth Synopsis: This week, Governor Hochul announced that she will lift the mask-or-vaccinate mandate for nearly all public places of business on February 10, 2022. The New York Department of Labor has now revised its model safety plan under the HERO Act to eliminate the mask requirement in most settings. Other HERO Act
Continue Reading UPDATED: New York Lifts Mask-or-Vax Mandate and HERO Act Masking Requirement
By Ronald S. Gart and Christopher A. Sickles
Seyfarth Synopsis: Pursuant to the Mayor’s Order 2021-148 (the “Order”), beginning on January 15, 2022, the District of Columbia has required certain businesses to verify that all patrons aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Beginning on February 15, 2022, all patrons must show
Continue Reading The District of Columbia’s Vaccine Mandate: What Businesses Need to Consider
By Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Mark A. Lies, Bradley D. Doucette, and Ilana R. Morady
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court stayed enforcement of OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), pending
Continue Reading OSHA ETS Stayed Again — Supreme Court Characterizes ETS as Public Health Measure Outside of OSHA’s Jurisdiction