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

On Friday, December 17, 2021, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to dissolve the stay of the federal OSHA COVID-19 vaccine or test mandate for large employers.

Background.

On November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS or the standard) to protect the health of employees by mitigating the spread of this historically unprecedented virus in the workplace. The ETS requires that employees who work for an employer with 100+ employees, as well as certain government employees, to either obtain a COVID-19 vaccine or undergo regular weekly tests. The next day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the ETS pending judicial review, and it renewed that decision in an opinion issued on November 12. Multiple petitions challenging the ETS—filed in Circuit Courts across the nation—were consolidated into the Sixth Circuit to be decided together.
Continue Reading OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccine or Test Mandate Is BACK in Play… For Now

Cal/OSHA has quietly made several updates to the FAQs for its COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS).  The additions shed additional light on, and in some regards revise previous guidance, relating to Isolation and Quarantine, Vaccines, and Exclusion Pay.
Continue Reading California’s ETS Updates Since Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Announcement

On August 7, 2020, the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) released its guidance on the City of San Francisco’s “Temporary Right to Reemployment Following Layoff Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency Ordinance” (also known as the “Back to Work” Ordinance), which the Board of Supervisors passed on June 23, 2020.  Importantly,