For the third time, CalOSHA has revised its Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) governing workplace safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised ETS are due to take effect on May 6, 2022 once they have been reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the California Secretary of State.
Continue Reading CalOSHA’s [Revised] ETS are Here to Stay! …at Least Until the End of 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) adopted a temporary policy in response to the difficulties many individuals experienced with renewing documents. As part of that temporary policy, employers were permitted to consider expired List B identity documents when completing the Form I-9 (“Employment Eligibility Verification”) which is required for employment in the United States.
Continue Reading Department Of Homeland Security Ends the COVID-19 Temporary Policy For Expired List B Identity Documents
Our Blog has been monitoring the ETS that OSHA issued in November 2021 that mandated employers of 100 or more employees to require their employees to obtain COVID-19 vaccinations or undergo regular COVID-19 testing instead. We have kept you informed as this ETS made its way through the courts. First, implementation of the ETS was stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (see blog on 11/18/2021), then the stay was lifted by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (see blog on 12/20/2021), and finally, argument was held before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered that the stay be put back in place after a majority of the Court found that OSHA had exceeded its authority in issuing the ETS (see blog on 12/23/2021 and blog on 1/13/2022). (Please note the Court let stand the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for certain healthcare workers.)
Continue Reading Federal OSHA Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard
In the midst of the winter COVID-19 surge, Governor Newsom and California legislative leaders have agreed to fast-track a plan to provide emergency COVID-19 relief. As part of that package, another allotment of Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19 will once again be available to California workers.
Continue Reading COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Returning to California Workplaces
As Lizbeth West and James Kachmar wrote in previous blogs, here and here, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the stay of OSHA’s vaccine-or-test mandate that applies to employers with more than 100 employees. Challengers of the mandate sought immediate review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in the matter on an expedited basis on January 7, 2022, and just published an opinion today lambasting OSHA’s vaccine mandate and staying its enforcement.
Continue Reading The U.S. Supreme Court Stays Enforcement of OSHA’s Nationwide Vaccine Mandate Because It Exceeds OSHA’s Authority
