On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) enforcement of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). Among other things, the ETS would have required most employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all covered employees or require unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. (A full summary of the ETS can be found in our alert here).… More
Tag Archives: COVID-19
New York City Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private Employers
On December 6, 2021, New York City announced a vaccine mandate for all private-sector employers that will take effect on December 27, 2021. The mandate, which will require all in-person employees who are in a workplace with other co-workers to be vaccinated, will affect roughly 184,000 private-sector businesses.
The City will release additional guidance, including information on enforcement and reasonable accommodations, on December 15, 2021. While more information is forthcoming,… More
EEOC Updates Guidance on Religious Exemptions to Workplace Vaccine Requirements
On October 25, 2021, as more employers adopt workplace vaccination requirements for their employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its guidance concerning requiring COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace. Most significantly, the EEOC offered guidance on employers’ Title VII obligation to accommodate employees with religious objections to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
The new guidance makes clear that, to be eligible for an accommodation under Title VII,… More
Massachusetts Extends and Expands COVID-19-Related Emergency Paid Sick Law
On September 29, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law an extension to the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“EPSL”) program. As we wrote about in detail here, the EPSL program requires Massachusetts employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work for certain reasons relating to COVID-19. Originally scheduled to expire on September 30, 2021 or when funding expired, the EPSL program has now been extended to April 30,… More