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Q&A: Does compliance with workers’ comp satisfy FMLA obligations?
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News, trends and analysis in employment law, HR, safety & workers' comp
Sep
16
2021
OREGON: Health care workers get paid leave for COVID-19 exposure
Oregon OSHA has published a temporary rule that requires employers with 11 or more employees to pay their health care workers who take time off to quarantine or isolate after a work-related exposure to COVID-19 (coronavirus). This rule on “medical relief benefits” (also referred to as “medical removal protection benefits”) is effective from…
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Sep
16
2021
Federal contractor minimum wage rises January 1, 2022
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has raised the minimum wage for certain federal contracts related to services and construction as of January 1, 2022. The minimum wage for federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 (“Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors”) will rise to $11.25 per hour effective January 1, 2022, up from $10.95 per hour…
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Sep
16
2021
USCIS extends expiration dates of Permanent Resident Cards
Beginning September 4, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it’s extending the expiration date of conditional Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) from 18 months to 24 months while cases are pending. The Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) provides proof of a worker’s identity and employment authorization status, and may be…
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Sep
14
2021
ALERT: Do federal vaccine mandates apply to your organization?
President Biden announced three different federal COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine mandates on September 9, 2021, which may potentially affect Vigilant members. Many details have yet to be released, but here’s a summary of what we know at this point: Employers with 100 or more employees: The President is directing federal OSHA to draft an…
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Sep
02
2021
OREGON: Rules for outdoor mask mandate published
On August 27, 2021, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) published temporary regulations requiring masks to be worn outdoors as well as indoors, with limited exceptions, effective immediately. The new rules incorporate and replace the existing indoor mask requirements that we previously reported here. The added outdoor mask mandate says that…
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Sep
02
2021
Form I-9 remote inspection extended again, until December 31, 2021
The Department of Homeland Security has again extended its temporary relaxation of the standards for physically inspecting a new worker’s employment eligibility documents when completing the Form I-9. This is the eleventh extension of the relaxed standard, which will now expire on December 31, 2021. As we originally reported, Homeland Security…
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Sep
02
2021
OREGON: Vaccinations required for health care and school workers
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recently filed temporary regulations requiring workers in health care and school settings to obtain COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccinations by October 18, 2021, or else provide documentation of an exemption due to disability or religion. We previously reported that Governor Kate Brown had announced that these workers…
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Aug
27
2021
Legal Corner: Avoid These Three Workers’ Comp Mistakes
I advise Washington employers A LOT about discipline and terminations. One of my recent calls went like this: “Hi, we have a two-year employee who has horrible attendance and a bad attitude. No one likes working with her. She always complains about anxiety, and last week she was a no-call, no-show. When…
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Aug
19
2021
MONTANA: FAQs released regarding vaccine discrimination law
The Montana Department of Labor recently released a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning HB 702 (2021), which as we previously reported, prohibits employers and businesses from discriminating against individuals on the basis of vaccination status. The FAQs cover many topics and include the following key interpretations concerning the…
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Aug
19
2021
OREGON: Safety rules updated in light of new mask mandate
On August 13, 2021, Oregon OSHA updated its workplace COVID-19 safety rules to be consistent with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA)’s general statewide emergency temporary rule requiring masks to be worn indoors in nearly all business settings as of August 13, 2021. (See our recent Alert on OHA’s mask mandate.) Employers must require…
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