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 MandatesBy Dawn Reddy Solowey, A. Scott Hecker, Coby Turner and James J. Swartz, Jr.
Seyfarth Synopsis: Despite President Biden’s recent declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, litigation concerning employer vaccine mandates continues as employers face hurdles to ensure workplace safety and compliance with government mandates.
Here we take a closer look at issues companies are
Continue Reading New Frontier in COVID-19 Vaccine Litigation
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
Many will argue that 2021 was simply a variant of 2020. As expected, the Biden Administration has been very deliberate and at times aggressive with their COVID-19 tactics and executive orders, pushing employers to quickly make changes to their policies. Moving into 2022, business leaders and legal analysts are predicting the Administration will refocus on employee rights and other social
Continue Reading Breakfast Briefing – Back to the Future or the Past? What 2022 Has in Store for Labor & Employment Laws
By Scott Hecker, Elisabeth Watson, and Karla Grossenbacher
Seyfarth Synopsis: Your dedicated Seyfarth Team has created a checklist to help covered employers achieve compliance with the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) in timely fashion.
Pending legal challenges have called into question the viability of ETS, published in the Federal Register on November 5,
Continue Reading What Must Employers Do to Comply with OSHA’s ETS? Check out our Checklist for Answers
By James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA is warning Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah that they risk a federal takeover of their worker safety programs unless they adopt a federal emergency temporary standard (ETS) protecting health-care workers from COVID -19.
OSHA published its
Continue Reading Three OSHA State Plans Under Fire for Failure to Adopt COVID Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care
By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, Ilana R. Morady, Daniel R. Birnbaum, Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 12, 2021, OSHA submitted to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (“OIRA”) an emergency temporary standard
Continue Reading OSHA Sends COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Emergency Temporary Standard to White House for Final Review
By James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Ilana Morady, Daniel R. Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: President Biden announced a six-pronged, “comprehensive national strategy” to combat COVID-19, which will include a second OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard requiring vaccines or testing.
Continue Reading OSHA to Issue New COVID Emergency Temporary Standard Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing, Paid Time Off
By James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Labelling the Delta-variant surge as the “Pandemic of the Unvaccinated,” on August 26, 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Prtizker announced that Illinois residents must wear masks indoors, and that school and health care staff must be vaccinated.
Cook County and the City of Chicago both had
Continue Reading Illinois Governor Announces Mask Mandate for All Indoor Settings, Regardless of Vaccination
By Benjamin J.Conley and Diane V. Dygert
Seyfarth Synopsis: As employers continue to struggle with strategies for safely re-opening their workplaces, we have previously discussed the possibility of mandating a vaccine or providing incentives for getting the vaccine. See Did You Get Your Vaccine Yet… Your Employer May Offer You an Incentive, and Employers’ Mandating the COVID-19 Vaccine
Continue Reading Anti-Vax Tax Facts Legal Considerations for Premium Differentials Based on Vaccination Status