Over the weekend, the New York State Commissioner of Health (the “Commissioner”) extended the designation of COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease under the HERO Act until February 15, 2022. The Commissioner will again review the level of transmission of COVID-19 in New York State on approximately February 15th and determine whether to continue this designation.
Read MoreOn January 13, the Supreme Court issued two opinions related to national vaccination mandates: staying enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) and staying the preliminary injunctions which were issued on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) rule requiring vaccination for employees of facilities who receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. While not the final word on these requirements, these rulings demonstrate the likely outcome of these legal challenges. The result of these rulings is that many employers will be left subject to myriad state and local requirements related to vaccination, testing, and masking.
Read MoreAs employers may recall, Section 2 of New York State’s HERO Act requires employers to permit employees to form a joint labor-management workplace safety committee. These obligations took effect on November 1, 2021. On December 22, 2021, the DOL issued proposed regulations for Section 2.
Read MoreThe employment law landscape is ever-changing when it comes to COVID-19 and compliance issues. This alert summarizes some recent key developments: the dissolution of the stay on the OSHA vaccinate or test mandate, the passage of child vaccination leave for COVID-19 in NYC, and the extension of the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease for HERO Act purposes.
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