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After weeks of consternation, uncertainty and litigation, the fate of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), which required employers with 100 or more employees to implement mandatory COVID vaccination policies, is now sealed – and it has been done by OSHA itself. After the U.S. the Supreme Court issued its decision to stay the OSHA mandate…
Read MoreIn 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,…
Read MoreIn 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…
Read MoreIn 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…
Read MoreOn 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…
Read More“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,…
Read MoreThis 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…
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) issued in March 2021, the following guidance for employers. Mandatory Vaccination Programs Wages: If an employer requires employees to get vaccinated, the time the employee spends obtaining the vaccine is likely compensable even if it is non-working time. Paid Leave: Time…
Read MoreDuring this horrible pandemic, there is a concern among employees about the risk of an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. Health care professionals are trying to alleviate these fears by emphasizing that any reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is usually very minor or rare. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, Section 11, states as follows:…
Read MoreBoth the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have been very active in creating new Employment Law Employer Responsibilities in Calendar 2020: Model Training Program for Mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention: The Illinois Department of Human Rights has released its Model Training Program for the prevention of Sexual Harassment. Under the Illinois Human Rights…
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