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On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued updated guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in all workplaces. Though employers in all industries have been waiting for months for OSHA’s expected issuance of Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), OSHA only issued an ETS applicable to healthcare workers, effectively ending the likelihood of COVID-19 emergency standards for other business sectors.

The updated guidance, which largely aligns with current CDC guidance, focuses on encouraging COVID-19 vaccination and protecting unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers. The guidance states that except for workplace settings covered by OSHA’s ETS (for healthcare settings) and mask requirements for public transportation, “most employers no longer need to take steps to protect their workers from COVID-19 exposure in any workplace, or well-defined portions of a workplace, where all employees are fully vaccinated. Employers should still take steps to protect unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers in their workplaces, or well-defined portions of workplaces.”

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Continue Reading OSHA Issues Updated COVID-19 Guidance for All Workplaces

Special thanks to presenters Jeremy Hann (Toronto), Liliana Hernandez-Salgado (Mexico City), Leticia Ribeiro (Sao Paulo – Trench Rossi Watanabe), Maria Cecilia Reyes (Bogota) and Matias Herrero (Buenos Aires).

Our four-part Global Guided Tour for US Multinational Employers webinar series is your passport to ensure that your organization is up to speed on the key labor…

Employers have been awaiting guidance from the EEOC on vaccine-related incentives since the EEOC stated in April 2021 that it would issue new guidance (but declined to state when). Now, they have it. On May 28, 2021, the EEOC issued updated and expanded COVID-19 guidance in its technical assistance document “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.” The updated guidance provides clarification and supplements the original December 2020 version of Section K (“Vaccines”) of the technical assistance.

Key updates regarding incentives include:

  • From a federal EEO standpoint, employers administering vaccines to their employees can offer incentives for their employees to be vaccinated, as long as the incentives are not coercive-but a large incentive could make employees feel pressured to disclose protected medical information by way of pre-vaccination disability-related screening questions.
  • Federal EEO laws do not prevent or limit employers from offering incentives to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation of vaccination obtained from a third party (not the employer) in the community, such as a pharmacy, personal health care provider, or public clinic. Employers must keep vaccination information confidential pursuant to the ADA.

Notably, the EEOC stated in this update that it is beyond the EEOC’s jurisdiction to discuss the legal implications of the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) status of the three COVID-19 vaccinations or the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approach to vaccine authorization–a response to “many inquiries” the EEOC received about the type of authorization granted the vaccines by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA.

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Continue Reading EEOC Updates its COVID-19 Technical Assistance: Employers Administering Vaccines Can Offer Non-Coercive Incentives to Employees

On May 18, 2021, Santa Clara County became among the first jurisdictions in the world to issue an Order requiring employers to determine if employees are vaccinated. Santa Clara County employers will need to move quickly, because the Order requires compliance within two weeks.

Here’s what Santa Clara County employers need to know now to…

We recently published an update to our 50-state Shelter-In-Place / Reopening Tracker.

Please see HERE. This is updated weekly.

For your convenience, here is a summary of the major updates from around the country:

  • The following jurisdictions extended their state-wide orders and/or the duration of the current phase of their reopening plans: Maryland, New

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On May 13, 2021, the CDC updated its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. Now, individuals who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in most indoor and outdoor settings, with a handful of exceptions (doctor’s offices, hospitals, planes, trains, airports, and transportation hubs), or unless…

Special thanks to guest contributor Aleesha Fowler.

Baker McKenzie’s Labor and Employment and Compliance and Investigations lawyers discuss the key considerations organizations encounter when faced with high profile sexual harassment and misconduct allegations and subsequent investigations involving powerful authoritative figures, executives and celebrities.

Click here to watch the video.

 

On May 5, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced the withdrawal of the previous administration’s independent contractor rule, effective May 6, 2021. The DOL has not proposed any regulatory guidance to replace the rule, leaving employers with no clear guidance on worker classification under the FLSA.

The withdrawal is no surprise. The DOL…