The U.S. secretary of health and human services declared a public health emergency (PHE) due to COVID-19 on January 31, 2020, and since that time, employers have faced a barrage of accommodation requests, largely in the form of requests to work from home. Some three years later, the PHE expired on May 11, 2023, creating
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic and the United States government initiated designated travel bans. Since January 1, 2021, the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) has required employers in Colorado to supplement employees’ regular paid sick leave with additional paid public health emergency (PHE)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that the temporary COVID-19 accommodations for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will expire on July 31, 2023. Employers that have been relying on the temporary policy to perform remote I-9 inspections will have up to thirty days to comply with physical Form I-9 document inspection requirements after
On May 1, 2023, the White House announced that beginning May 12, 2023, foreign nationals entering the United States via airports will no longer be required to provide evidence of vaccination against COVID-19. Additionally, in a concomitant move, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement similarly rescinding the vaccine requirement for certain
On May 1, 2023, the Biden administration announced that it will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for federal contractors on May 11, 2023—which is the day that the COVID-19 public health emergency will end.
Quick Hits
Quick Hits
The UK government recently published guidance on ethnicity pay
On May 1, 2023, the Biden administration announced that it would be ending all of its various COVID-19 vaccination requirements on May 11, 2023, the same date as the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency will end, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)). The U.S. Department of Health and
A bill pending in the California Senate, Senate Bill (SB) No. 616, proposes to expand the number of paid sick days that California employers must offer to employees.
Under current law, eligible California employees are entitled to a minimum of twenty-four hours, or three days, of paid sick leave per year. SB 616 proposes
On April 19, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the temporary suspension of the biometrics requirement for certain individuals filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, would be extended through September 30, 2023.
As a result of this announcement, any individuals filing Form I-539 to request an extension of or change
What does the April 10, 2023, early end of the COVID-19 National Emergency declaration mean for employer health plans?
Well, nothing, actually.
That’s because the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are sticking with the guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that they issued on March