Question: As we enter this new phase of the pandemic, it seems like everyone is going to get sick. With the vaccination mandate effectively dead, do we need to care anymore? Answer: Yes! It’s been a long haul, and pandemic fatigue is real, but employers still have an obligation to monitor and…
Read More…On January 5, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) extended its order requiring everyone to wear masks in indoor public settings regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 (coronavirus). The original statewide order was set to end on January 15, 2022, but will now stay in effect through…
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Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate for COVID-19 (coronavirus), it’s time for covered entities to dig into the guidance and complete any compliance steps. In order to assist the regulated community with compliance, CMS has issued guidance for the first 25…
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The states of Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington have all indicated that they don’t currently plan to proceed with their own general workplace vaccine mandates in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to maintain the temporary stay on the federal OSHA COVID-19 (coronavirus) emergency temporary standard (ETS) for employers with…
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On January 13, 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions on two federal COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine mandates, one against and one in favor. The court temporarily halted enforcement of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard for employers with 100 or more employees and upheld the enforcement of the rule from the Centers for…
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On December 21, 2021, Oregon OSHA adopted minor changes to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) rules for all indoor workplaces as well as for employer-provided labor housing. They took effect immediately. Changes to the rules for all Oregon workplaces include the following: Physical distancing requirements have been eliminated, except in health care and…
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Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced new COVID-19 (coronavirus) booster requirements, calling for health care workers and all employees in high-risk congregate settings, including nursing homes, to receive their vaccine booster shots by February 1, 2022. In the meantime, health care workers who haven’t yet received their boosters must test twice weekly. The…
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We previously reported that the COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine mandate for certain federal contractors is on hold nationwide, and that remains the case. Lawsuits filed in federal district courts are slowly working their way through the legal system, but so far, no court has reinstated the mandate. Tips: As reported elsewhere in today’s…
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 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 twelfth extension of the relaxed standard, which will now expire on April 30, 2022. As we originally reported, DHS relaxed the requirement for employers operating…
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Employers in the health care industry need to be aware of two important developments in federal COVID-19 (coronavirus) rules: (1) the establishment of new compliance deadlines for health care employers in the 25 states that didn’t file lawsuits over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate and (2) the…
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