Protecting Employers Since 1985

Reasonable Accommodation and Commuting to Work

By Alan E. Seneczko / October 26, 2023

Employers recognize that they have a duty to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities that substantially limit their ability to perform the essential functions of their job. But what about disabilities that limit their ability to get to work? Does the duty to accommodate extend to the commute? The Seventh Circuit recently tackled this issue and…

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Remote Work as an Accommodation in the Post-COVID Workplace

By Alan E. Seneczko / August 17, 2023

There was a time in the not too distant past when working from home was generally not a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Mobley v. Allstate Ins. Co., 531 F.3d 539, 547-48 (7th Cir. 2008). In fact, the Seventh Circuit was quite emphatic in its position on this issue: “[A]n employer is not required to…

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“Harassment” In the Next Generation

By Alan E. Seneczko / April 30, 2023

Time passes in the blink of an eye, as do changes in our culture and work environment. Just yesterday, I was counseling employers about new laws prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requiring family leave, and managing employees in the “electronic” workplace, in a world of social media. Now that’s old news, with established…

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Supreme Court Lifts Injunction on DHHS Vaccine Mandate for Recipients of Medicare and Medicaid Funding

By Alan E. Seneczko / January 13, 2022

In a companion decision to its ruling on the OSHA vaccine mandate, the Supreme Court issued another stay – but this one on injunctions that had been issued enjoining regulations issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services mandating that recipients of Medicare and Medicaid funding (e.g., hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities,…

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Supreme Court Puts Skids on OSHA Vaccine Mandate

By Alan E. Seneczko / January 13, 2022

In a decision released this afternoon, the Supreme Court put a halt to the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard that requires employers with 100 or more employees to implement a mandatory vaccine policy, under which employees must either be vaccinated for COVID or undergo weekly testing at their own expense, on their own time, or be…

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OSHA Vaccine Mandate Back On

By Alan E. Seneczko / December 20, 2021

In the on-again-off-again legal environment surrounding the OSHA vaccine mandate, on Friday, December 17, 2021 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the Fifth Circuit’s stay of OSHA vaccine mandate and reinstated the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The ETS, which requires employers with 100 or more employees to implement and enforce a mandatory vaccine policy…

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OSHA Suspends Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate

By Alan E. Seneczko / November 18, 2021

On November 17, 2021, OSHA announced that, given the decision of the Fifth Circuit, it is suspending enforcement of its COVID vaccine mandate: On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86…

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OSHA Vaccine Mandate Future In Doubt

By Alan E. Seneczko / November 17, 2021

“IT IS ORDERED that OSHA take no steps to implement or enforce the [vaccine] Mandate until further court order.” In a decision highly critical of OSHA’s November 5, 2021 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), which mandates that all employers with 100 or more employees “develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy,” on November 12,…

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OSHA Issues Vaccine Mandate

By Alan E. Seneczko / November 4, 2021

This morning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the issuance of its much anticipated, highly controversial COVID vaccine mandate. The Emergency Temporary Standard, to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register, becomes effective on publication. Employers are required to comply with its requirements within 30 days, except for the mandatory vaccines, which must be completed…

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DOL Rolls Out Regulations Implementing FFCRA Obligations

By Alan E. Seneczko / April 1, 2020

Earlier this afternoon, the DOL issued temporary regulations, effective immediately, implementing and interpreting the paid sick leave and emergency family leave provisions of the FFCRA. Although the rules largely mimic the information provided in the FAQs, they now have the force and effect of law. Some additional clarifications: Paid sick leave and/or EFMLA is not…

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