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The CDC Issues New COVID-Related Guidance: What This Means for Employers

March 26, 2024 | Blog | By Andrew Bernstein, Kathryn Droumbakis

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CDC Shifts Approach and Loosens COVID-19 Quarantine Recommendations, including for Most Workplaces

August 15, 2022 | Blog | By Corbin Carter, Michael Arnold

On August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again revised its public health recommendations regarding COVID-19 prevention measures in general community settings, including non-healthcare workplaces.  In doing so, the CDC acknowledged that “COVID-19 is here to stay,” and seemed to shift its focus from viral containment to lessening the risk of severe illness and death associated with the virus.  Chief among these changes is the CDC’s removal of its quarantine recommendation – individuals are no longer advised that they should quarantine following close contact exposure to COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status, where they do not experience symptoms or test positive. Mintz attorneys Corbin Carter and Michael Arnold discuss these new revised recommendations and its impact on employers.

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EEOC Updates Screening, Testing, and Mandatory Vaccination Policies

July 26, 2022 | Blog | By Danielle Bereznay

After several months, the EEOC has once again updated its guidance and answers regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic’s interaction with anti-discrimination laws, with a particular focus on the workplace screening, testing, and mandatory vaccination policies.  This guidance, updated on July 12, 2022, provides important clarifications to Section A (Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Exams), Section C (Hiring and Onboarding), Section G (Return to Work), and Section K (The ADA and COVID-19 Vaccinations).  Mintz Employment Attorney Danielle Bereznay discusses the key details.

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Impact of Recent OSHA and CDC Updates on Employers’ Mandatory Vaccination Policies

February 14, 2022 | Blog | By Natalie C. Groot, Danielle Dillon

Now that OSHA has withdrawn its vaccine or test rule, many employers are considering the use of mandatory vaccination policies in their workplaces. Employers have met this development with varied responses – some employers have rescinded vaccination requirements that were compliant with the more stringent OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requirements, some have retained mandatory vaccination policies compliant with the now-withdrawn ETS, and still others have created mandatory vaccination policies without reference to the ETS.
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Supreme Court Blocks OSHA Vaccine Rule for Large Employers

January 13, 2022 | Blog | By Michael Arnold, Corbin Carter

The Supreme Court has stayed OSHA from enforcing its vaccine-or-test rule for large private employers. In its opinion, the Court found that Congress did not grant OSHA the authority to issue such a sweeping rule. Empowered to issue a workplace safety rule? Yes. But, according to the Supreme Court, OSHA did not impose such a rule; instead, it attempted to impose a broad public health measure, which the Court considered outside of the agency’s purview. In short, as the Court noted: “imposing a vaccine mandate on 84 million Americans in response to a worldwide pandemic is simply not ‘part of what the agency was built for.’”
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Cal/OSHA Revised Guidance Effective January 14, 2022

January 13, 2022 | Blog | By Nicole Rivers, Paul Huston, Jennifer Rubin

Cal/OSHA revised its Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) following its mid-December meeting and, more recently, made additional revisions to align with the California Department of Public Health’s recommendations.
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Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Plans to Enforce New York City’s Private Employer Vaccine Mandate

December 31, 2021 | Blog | By Evan Piercey, Michael Arnold

Mayor-elect Eric Adams has announced that he plans to keep New York City’s vaccine mandate in place once he takes office.
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Part Ten of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Workplace Communications and Trainings

May 20, 2020 | Blog | By Danielle Bereznay

In the final part of our Roadmap Series, as employers prepare to transition to on-site operations for segments of their staff, we discuss considerations for COVID-19 related communications to the workforce. We also address the importance of conducting workplace trainings for managers and staff that address new regulatory considerations for workplace safety, telecommuting arrangements, health screenings, and leave and accommodation requests to prepare for the “new normal.”
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Part Nine of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring Compliance – Leave Management

May 18, 2020 | Blog | By Corbin Carter, Natalie C. Groot, Michael Arnold, Andrew Matzkin

As management and human resources professionals are well aware, COVID-19 has drastically and rapidly impacted the workplace. Among other things, employees require more flexibility, employers are increasingly reliant upon remote work arrangements, and legislative and administrative responses to the pandemic from various levels of government have created new requirements for businesses, including new leave entitlements for employees. In Part Nine of our Roadmap Series, we explore key considerations surrounding leave management and compliance as employees and businesses navigate this new terrain.
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Part Eight of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Avoiding COVID-19 Wage & Hour and Labor Law Pitfalls

May 15, 2020 | Blog | By Delaney Busch, Brendan Lowd

In Part Eight of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at wage and hour compliance concerns that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what employers can do to minimize these pitfalls.

Remember that wage and hour concerns, and how to properly address them, will often depend on whether a company is dealing with exempt employees (i.e., employees not entitled to overtime pay regardless of the number of hours worked in a day or week) or non-exempt employees (i.e., employees entitled to overtime pay if the employee works more than eight hours a day or forty hours in a week, depending on the state). This critical distinction will largely govern how employers should consider and plan for the issues described below.
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Part Seven of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Employee Physical and Mental Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 11, 2020 | Blog | By David Barmak

In Part Seven of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 on employee mental and physical well-being, and what employers can do to assist their workforce.
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Part Six of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Reporting to Work

May 7, 2020 | Blog | By Andrew Bernstein

As we continue to plan and prepare for the reopening of businesses, Part Six of our Roadmap series examines the when, what, where, and how of returning to work. Given the many considerations this process entails, we encourage employers to begin engaging with these issues now and to consult with counsel so that plans are in place and the groundwork is laid for the eventual reopening of the workplace, whenever that may be.
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Part Five of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace - COVID-19 Screening and Testing

May 6, 2020 | Blog | By Nicole Rivers, Michael Arnold, Karen Lovitch , Hope Foster, Cynthia Larose

In Part 5 of our Roadmap Series, we take a closer look at COVID-19 screening and testing, including best practices and legal implications, as potential tools to maintain a safe workplace.
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Part Four of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace – Reimagining the Physical Workspace and Business Travel

May 4, 2020 | Blog | By Delaney Busch, Angel Feng

Given the challenges presented by COVID-19, many businesses must consider large-scale, transformational changes to their operations. As social distancing continues and safety concerns pervade the public consciousness, adjustments to the physical workspace and business travel practices will be necessary to reflect these new considerations. In Part 4 of our COVID-19 Roadmap Series, we outline important planning steps and concerns employers need to consider relating to physical workspaces and business travel.
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Part Three of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Ensuring a Safe Workplace - Key Guidance for a Healthy Workspace

May 1, 2020 | Blog | By Delaney Busch

In Part 3 of our Roadmap Series, we outline important guidance, procedures, and concerns employers need to consider to successfully and safely bring back employees to their worksite. As authorities begin reopening economies and traditional workplaces once again open for business, employers are facing difficult challenges regarding reorganizing and protecting their places of business. However, the exact measures appropriate and effective for each workspace will depend heavily on the outcome of a worksite risk assessment.
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Part Two of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Creating a COVID-19 Operations Infrastructure

April 27, 2020 | Blog | By Emma Follansbee

With the reopening of the economy on the horizon, employers are looking ahead to welcoming employees back to the traditional workplace. Business operations will look vastly different during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In Part 2 of our Roadmap Series, we outline important operational planning steps and actions employers can take now to successfully and safely bring employees back to the workplace. Future posts in this series will address many of these issues more in-depth, so be sure to stay tuned.
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Coronavirus Molecule

Part One of the COVID-19 Roadmap Series: Introduction

April 22, 2020 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

The rapid onset of the coronavirus crisis stripped many employers of the opportunity to prepare an orderly retreat from the physical workplace. While we do not know what the “normal” post-pandemic American workplace will look like, employers should plan now for this transformation.  The Mintz Employment, Labor and Benefits section is pleased to provide this Roadmap for the Post-Pandemic Workplace series that will provide guidance on critical issues employers should focus on as they prepare for what promises to be a very different workplace.
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