Safety/Health

Employees’ vax status: Yes, it is your business

10/18/2021

We’ve written about how HIPAA’s wellness plans affect covid vaccinations. But there’s another aspect to HIPAA—privacy—that is less understood and often overlooked. Let’s air out some of those issues now.

OSHA vax mandate rule closer to taking effect

10/14/2021

The Biden administration’s requirement for large employers to ensure all employees are vaccinated against covid-19 is one step closer to being implemented.

Long covid could trigger FMLA, ADA liability

10/14/2021

Employers need to be ready to respond to more requests for both FMLA intermittent leave and ADA accommodations.

OSHA cites insurance agency for covid-safety violations

10/12/2021

A federal workplace health investigation found that an auto insurance company ignored coronavirus safety requirements and allowed others displaying symptoms to work at the same Denver location where an employee died of covid-19.

Employers begin firing covid vaccine refusers

10/07/2021

The Biden administration hasn’t even finished drafting rules for mandatory employee covid-19 vaccinations, but employers are already taking action. Some large employers have begun firing noncompliant workers or announced new mandates after previous incentives failed to get more workers vaccinated. Here are some examples.

Not just shots: Fed contractors must enforce mask, distancing rules, too

10/05/2021

“Covered contractors must ensure that all individuals, including covered contractor employees and visitors, comply with published [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance for masking and physical distancing,” the government’s guidance states.

Poll: Business leaders back employer vaccine mandate

09/30/2021

Nearly two-thirds of business leaders surveyed say they support the Biden administration’s call for employees of organizations with 100 or more workers to be vaccinated against covid-19.

1st lawsuits over vaccine exemptions filed

09/30/2021

In order to comply with the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, there must be a way to opt out of any mandate for employees with medical conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs that prevent them from being vaccinated. Predictably, lawyers representing workers have pounced on those exemptions.

State AGs threaten lawsuit to stop Biden’s vaccine mandate

09/28/2021

Attorneys general from 24 states have vowed to sue to stop the Biden administration’s plans to require all employees of large organizations to be fully vaccinated against covid-19.

Fed contractors have until Dec. 8 to ensure staff are fully vaccinated