Employment Law Perspectives

On Tuesday October 12, 2021, two New York federal judges issued rulings related to the enforcement of vaccine mandates in New York. Judge David Hurd of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled in favor of health care workers seeking religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates by prohibiting health care facility employers from enforcing vaccine mandates without considering religious exemptions. The ruling comes after seventeen health care workers sued the…

Employment Law Perspectives

President Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination For Millions Of Employees

By Salvatore G. Gangemi, Patricia E. Reilly & Alyssa R. Ferreone

September 10, 2021

On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced new COVID-19 vaccine mandates requiring all employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly. In addition, the vaccine mandate builds on the President’s announcement in July requiring all federal workers to get vaccinated. The President also signed an executive order extending mandatory vaccinations to employees of contractors who do business with the federal government. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…

Employment Law Perspectives

OSHA Announces COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare Industry

By Salvatore G. Gangemi, Stephanie S. Sobkowiak, Heather O. Berchem, Emily McDonough Souza & Arielle M. Smitt

June 16, 2021

On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety. The order directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take action to reduce the risk that workers may contract COVID-19 in the workplace. On June 10, 2021, OSHA announced a highly-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) setting forth steps that employers in the healthcare industry must take to protect workers from COVID-19 risks while the pandemic is ongoing.…

Employment Law Perspectives

New York Enacts HERO Act Requiring All Employers to Implement Health and Safety Standards to Address Airborne Infectious Diseases

By Salvatore G. Gangemi

May 18, 2021

On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed into law the Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act), which imposes on all non-public employers significant health and safety standards intended to address the spread of airborne infectious diseases, like COVID-19, in the workplace. The HERO act is touted as the “first-in-the-nation” statute of its kind, apart from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which until now has governed applicable workplace safety standards. It…

Employment Law Perspectives

IRS Provides Guidance on Tax Credits for COVID-19 Vaccination Paid Time Off

By Marc T. Finer

April 26, 2021

To encourage more people to obtain the COVID-19 vaccines, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 permits eligible employers of small and medium-sized businesses to claim refundable tax credits to reimburse them for the cost of providing paid time off for employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and recover from any potential side effects related to the vaccines. The tax credits are available from April 1 through September 30, 2021. This means that employers who provided…

Employment Law Perspectives

Is a “Vaccination Ambassador” a Good Idea?

By Salvatore G. Gangemi

April 6, 2021

The CDC has recently recommended that employers appoint “vaccination ambassadors” to encourage employees to get vaccinated. The EEOC has not commented on the CDC’s recommendation, but based on other pandemic-related guidance issued by the EEOC, employers should consider the employment risks associated with a vaccination ambassador. These risks include the following: Vaccination ambassadors are also employees and are being encouraged by the CDC to share their vaccination experiences with other employees, who may be reluctant…

Employment Law Perspectives

New COBRA Premium Subsidy Law Requires Prompt Action by Employers and COBRA Administrators

By Melanie N. Aska & Erek M. Sharp

March 23, 2021

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic stimulus bill which provides eligible qualified beneficiaries with up to six months of free COBRA continuation coverage during a temporary COBRA premium subsidy period beginning April 1, 2021 and ending September 30, 2021. The full COBRA premium subsidy is available to any qualified beneficiaries (that is, current or former employees and their spouses…

Employment Law Perspectives

New York Requires Paid Time-Off for COVID-19 Vaccinations

By Salvatore G. Gangemi & Emily McDonough Souza

March 17, 2021

On March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law an act requiring all New York employers, regardless of size or industry, to provide employees with paid COVID-19 vaccination leave of up to four hours per injection, effective immediately. The law, which amends the New York’s Civil Service Law (public employees) as well as the New York Labor Law (private employees), mandates that employers provide a “sufficient period of time,” up to four hours for…

Employment Law Perspectives

OSHA Issues New Guidance on COVID-19

By Salvatore G. Gangemi

February 16, 2021

On January 29, 2021, OSHA posted new guidance intended to inform employers and workers in identifying risks of exposure to COVID-19. The new guidance applies to industries outside of healthcare. OSHA previously issued separate guidance applicable to healthcare and emergency response. The guidance does not create any new legal requirements or obligations, but is advisory only. OSHA intends for the guidance to assist employers with planning. OSHA’s recommendations include: Assignment of a workplace coordinator…

Employment Law Perspectives

Department of Labor Revises “Health Care Provider” Exemption to COVID-19-Related Paid Sick Leave and Enhanced Family Medical Leave

By Salvatore G. Gangemi, Patricia E. Reilly & Matthew A. Ciarleglio

September 16, 2020

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) became law on March 18, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we previously blogged on several (okay, numerous) occasions, the FFCRA comprises the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLA”), which provide paid leave in connection with certain COVID-19 related absences from work. Rather than go into each of those circumstances, you can click on any of…