On December 31, 2022, Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) finally sunset. However, the Standards Board has been working to pass a permanent standard to ensure it is in place before the expiration of the ETS. The Board has announced it will be voting on the permanent standard at its upcoming meeting on December 15th. Of note, while it is called a permanent standard, the proposed standard includes a two-year sunset, consistent with the recognition…

In our latest issue of the Class Action Trends Report, Jackson Lewis attorneys look at the current state of COVID-19-related litigation at this late stage of the global pandemic. Employers have faced more than 5,000 COVID-19-related lawsuits — hundreds of which were brought as putative class or collective actions — and new lawsuits continue to be filed every day. In fact, September 2022 saw the highest number yet of new complaints challenging employer vaccine mandates. Wage…

Lawsuits opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates have surpassed the 1,000-complaint mark. The vast majority of these cases (75 percent) have been filed against employers. August 2022 brought the highest number of new complaints challenging employer COVID-19 vaccination requirements since the wave of vaccine mandate litigation began. When legal challenges to COVID-19 vaccine mandates began to rise sharply in the fall of 2021, cases were directed mostly at Biden Administration executive orders and agency directives, as well…

After more than two and half years, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has announced that he will be ending the COVID-19 state of emergency, effective October 31, 2022.  When that occurs, all remaining state COVID-19 emergency proclamations will end as well. Even after the state of emergency is lifted, the Department of Health’s statewide Face Covering Order will remain in place for health care and long-term care settings, as well as correctional facilities in some…

In March 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) dropped universal indoor masking, though masking was still required in certain places. By April 2022, most counties had also ceased universal indoor masking requirements. However, recently, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) stated if the uptick in cases and hospitalizations continued, then the County would implement a new indoor universal mask mandate effective July 29, 2022. On July 28, 2022, the LACDPH…

As the pandemic continues to evolve, so does the EEOC’s guidance. On July 12, 2022, the EEOC once again updated its COVID-19 guidance: What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws to reflect the pandemic’s changing state. The updated guidance follows CDC’s June 10, 2022 statements regarding the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.…

In early June 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an order revising the definition of “close contact.” Under the CDPH order, close contact was defined as “someone sharing the same indoor airspace (e.g. home, clinic waiting room, airplane, etc.) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.” This created confusion because “same indoor airspace” could be quite broad and is certainly much broader than the 6 feet-15…