By Ilana Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, and Benjamin D. Briggs
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 20, 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated its guidance to local health departments on the definition of a COVID-19 outbreak. The new definition changes the timeframe for counting COVID-19 cases that make up an outbreak from 14 to 7 days.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Definition Changes Make Outbreaks Less Likely
Seyfarth Synopsis: On May 11, 2023, the same day on which the federal government ended the national health emergency related to COVID-19, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a sweeping bill (SB 252) that prohibits businesses in Florida from discriminating in any way against a person based on vaccination status and from requiring face masks
Continue Reading Florida Governor Signs into Law Sweeping Bill that Prohibits Businesses from Discriminating Based on Vaccination Status or from Requiring Face Masks and COVID-19 Tests
By Kayla King-Heyer and Dawn Reddy Solowey
Seyfarth Synopsis: We may be past the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but decisions from COVID-19 vaccine litigation have the potential to affect far more than pandemic-specific employment practices. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued an opinion affirming the City of Boston’s power to impose certain health and safety policies on
Continue Reading SJC Weighs in on Fiery Debate Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
By Ilana Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, Coby Turner, Liz Watson and Juan Rehl-Garcia
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two big changes are on the horizon for California employers:
(1) changes to the COVID-19 general exposure notification requirements and (2) a proposed “permanent” Cal/OSHA COVID-19 standard to take effect January 1, 2023-2025.
The fall season signals change between the
Continue Reading Changes Coming to CA COVID-19 RequirementsBy 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 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