By Adam R. Young, Daniel R. Birnbaum, A. Scott Hecker, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: With concerns of infectious disease at the forefront of workplace health and safety in the past several years, and with the traditional flu and cold season upon us, OSHA has reminded the regulated community to prevent the
Continue Reading With Flu Season Upon Us, OSHA Signals That Employers Should Continue To Encourage Vaccination For Their WorkforcesBy A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The CDC has found that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are leveling off from their rise over the summer. The CDC advises that Americans can help prevent these numbers from increasing again by staying up to date with
Continue Reading CDC Interpretive Summary on COVID-19 for August 26, 2022
By A. Scott Hecker, Benjamin D. Briggs, Adam R. Young, Patrick Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On May 25, 2022, Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee regarding his vision for the
Continue Reading The Slow and the Furious: OSHA’s Rulemakings Continue at Various Stages with Infectious Diseases a Priority
By Robert S. Whitman and Amanda Williams
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Commissioner of Health has declined to extend the designation of COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease under the NY HERO Act. Employers are no longer required to activate their safety plans.
As previously reported (most recently here), the New York State Commissioner of Health, on September
Continue Reading NY HERO Act Update: COVID-19 Designation Expires
By Chantelle C. Egan, Bernard Olshansky, Patrick D. Joyce, and Ilana Morady
Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 28, 2022, California’s Governor Newsom issued a press release lifting California’s mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, downgrading the former requirement to a strong recommendation, effective March 1, 2022. The same day, the California Department of Public Health
Continue Reading California Loosens Indoor Masking Requirements for the Unvaccinated
By: James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, Adam R. Young, Melissa Ortega, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Friday, February 25, 2022, the CDC significantly eased COVID-19 mask guidelines. The new guidelines are based on COVID-19 community levels.
As the COVID-19 surge fueled by the Omicron variant began to retreat, many states eased or planned
Continue Reading CDC Eases Pandemic Mask Guidelines
By Daniel I.Small and Robert S.Whitman
Seyfarth Synopsis: This week, Governor Hochul announced that she will lift the mask-or-vaccinate mandate for nearly all public places of business on February 10, 2022. The New York Department of Labor has now revised its model safety plan under the HERO Act to eliminate the mask requirement in most settings. Other HERO Act
Continue Reading UPDATED: New York Lifts Mask-or-Vax Mandate and HERO Act Masking Requirement
By A. Scott Hecker, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Mark A. Lies, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, Daniel R. Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has withdrawn its private employer COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS, effective Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
On Tuesday, January 25,
Continue Reading OSHA Acknowledges Reality; Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS
By Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Mark A. Lies, Bradley D. Doucette, and Ilana R. Morady
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court stayed enforcement of OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), pending
Continue Reading OSHA ETS Stayed Again — Supreme Court Characterizes ETS as Public Health Measure Outside of OSHA’s Jurisdiction
By Scott Hecker, Elisabeth 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