Following a US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision to temporarily block the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new vaccine requirement rule, many employers have found themselves in a state of confusion. According to this article published in The Hill, businesses could face steep penalties if they willfully violate the rule, such as fines of more than $130,000. But even though the rule is temporarily blocked, McDermott Partner Michelle Strowhiro said businesses should continue preparing for important OSHA deadlines.
“I think it’s prudent for employers to proceed with planning assuming that the OSHA rule, at least in some form or fashion, will be implemented pending final resolution of the various court cases,” Strowhiro said.
On November 6, 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit temporarily blocked the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued on November 4, 2021, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement COVID-19 vaccination policies. The ETS is stayed until further notice, halting its implementation temporarily. While the future of the ETS remains uncertain, employers may want to continue preparing for the ETS as if it is going to take effect while litigation continues.
On November 4, 2021, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) unveiled its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect employees of large employers in all industries from COVID-19. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) simultaneously released its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule, applicable to most Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers, which must be met to continue participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs. Finally, the White House announced that its previously published federal contractor vaccination mandate would be updated to move the compliance deadline from December 8, 2021, to January 4, 2022.
What are the impacts of a multigenerational workforce, and how do you best bridge generational differences in the workplace?
In this Chicago Lawyer Magazine article, McDermott Partner Tina Martini suggests that multiple generations of employees can have varying ideas about how to approach issues, as well as having distinct points of view.
“There can be adverse consequences in not having different generations represented, including the potential for it to negatively impact your ability to recruit and retain top talent,” Martini notes.
What questions should a governing board’s human capital committee ask itself? According to this August 2021 e-book edited by McDermott Partner Michael Peregrine, committee members should regularly ask themselves questions about workforce strategy and engagement, outstanding litigation, talent pipeline and management strategy and human capital technology.
Illinois has enacted a new law governing restrictive covenants: Public Act 102-0358. This law outlines the requirements for valid noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements, and enforcement of those covenants. It will apply to all agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2022.
According to McDermott’s Brian Mead and Barrick Bollman, the legislation allows an employee to recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees if the employee prevails in an action seeking to enforce a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement. The legislation also requires that employers advise employees, in writing, to consult with counsel before entering into a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement, and that employees be afforded 14 days to review the covenant before signing.
The full US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has led to vaccine mandates by both governments and businesses. More companies will implement their own vaccine requirements in light of the FDA approval, according to McDermott partner Michelle Strowhiro in this The Hill article.
“What employers are trying to balance right now is implementing the right safety standards for their workforce while also being cognizant of the fact that the labor market is so difficult and many employers are already struggling with having the right number of people on staff,” Strowhiro said.
Employers are facing a myriad of decisions as they consider vaccination requirements for their workforces.
Mandatory vaccine policies, for example, should include rationale for why they are required, McDermott partner Carole A. Spink said in this Society for Human Resource Management article. The scope of any policy should be clearly identified and explain which employees it applies to.
As the Delta variant continues to spread across the United States, companies are once again having to make tough decisions. In this Forbes article, McDermott partner Michael Peregrine says corporate boards should ask their CEOs how they will respond to the pandemic’s latest development.
“At a time when most businesses were aggressively moving forward with long-stalled resiliency measures, they are countered by the equally aggressive Delta variant,” Peregrine writes.
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