By: Adam Young, Matthew A. Sloan, and Ilana R. Morady

Seyfarth Synopsis: The CDC’s shorter isolation and quarantine requirements will allow employers to get many COVID-19 positive employees and exposed, unvaccinated employees back to work 5 days sooner.   

On December 28, 2021, the CDC shortened the recommended isolation period for all persons with COVID-19.  Under the revised
Continue Reading CDC Amends Isolation and Quarantine Requirements for COVID-19 Amid Spread of Omicron Variant.

By: Adam Young, James L. Curtis, Brent I. Clark, Mark A. Lies, Patrick D. Joyce, and A. Scott Hecker

Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 7, 2022, in an extraordinary open session, the Supreme Court will reconsider the dissolved stay of the OSHA ETS, as well as the injunctions blocking the CMS healthcare vaccination mandate in
Continue Reading Supreme Court Will Hold Special Session on OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS, as well as Healthcare CMS Vaccination Mandate

By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, and Patrick D. Joyce

Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 17, 2021, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved its sister Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard in a 2-1 order.  Shortly thereafter, OSHA
Continue Reading OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS Revived as Sixth Circuit Dissolves Stay

By James L. CurtisAdam R. YoungPatrick D. Joyce, Daniel R. Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor Tweeted and blogged about the safety of workers during the busy holiday season, indicating an area of potential enforcement for OSHA in the coming weeks.

Unsurprisingly, OSHA has targeted workplace
Continue Reading Ho, Ho, Health and Safety! Keeping Workers Safe and Merry this Holiday Season

By A. Scott HeckerBrent I. ClarkBenjamin D. Briggs, James L. CurtisAdam R. YoungIlana Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) lottery selected the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to hear the consolidated legal challenges to
Continue Reading U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Selected to Rule on OSHA COVID ETS Per Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

By Adam R. YoungRobert T. Szyba, Robert S. Whitman, and  Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Department of Labor published “Frequently Asked Questions” which address occupational cannabis issues under the adult-use cannabis and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).

New York State has legalized medical and recreational marijuana, and
Continue Reading New York Department of Labor Attempts to Prohibit Drug Testing for Cannabis, Employment Actions Against Some Employees Who are Impaired at Work

By Scott HeckerElisabeth Watson, and Karla Grossenbacher

Seyfarth Synopsis: Your dedicated Seyfarth Team has created a checklist to help covered employers achieve compliance with the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) in timely fashion.

Pending legal challenges have called into question the viability of ETS, published in the Federal Register on November 5,
Continue Reading What Must Employers Do to Comply with OSHA’s ETS? Check out our Checklist for Answers

By Adam R. YoungMelissa A. Ortega, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 28, 2021, an amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act passed the Illinois General Assembly and made its way to Governor Pritzker’s desk. The amendment creates a COVID-19 carve-out, but it will not go into effect until June 1,
Continue Reading A Swing and a Miss: Right to Conscience Objections to COVID-19 Vaccinations to Endure Until June 2022

Seyfarth Synopsis: The deadline for employers to distribute their airborne disease prevention safety plan and post the plan in the workplace is approaching. 

As previously reported, the New York Department of Labor has published general and industry-specific model disease prevention protocols under the New York HERO Act. Employers were required to


Continue Reading NY HERO Act Update: Deadline to Distribute and Post Safety Plan Days Away

By James L. CurtisAdam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Labelling the Delta-variant surge as the “Pandemic of the Unvaccinated,” on August 26, 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Prtizker announced that Illinois residents must wear masks indoors, and that school and health care staff must be vaccinated.

Cook County and the City of Chicago both had
Continue Reading Illinois Governor Announces Mask Mandate for All Indoor Settings, Regardless of Vaccination