Illinois recently passed legislation amending the Freedom to Work Act (the “Act”), following a growing trend of states imposing greater restrictions on employers’ use and enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation covenants.
On January 1, 2022, SB 672 took effect, clarifying ambiguities in the original Act and levying additional requirements on Illinois employers who seek to
Corporate
Federal Judge in Texas Blocks Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers
On Friday, January 21, 2022, Judge Jeffrey V. Brown of the Southern District of Texas issued a nation-wide injunction, blocking enforcement of President Biden’s Executive Order 14043. Executive Order 14043 requires vaccination for COVID-19 for all federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions. The mandate, issued in September, was one of the first and…
U.S. Supreme Court Lifts Preliminary Injunctions on Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) Interim Final Rule (the “Rule”) in a 5-4 decision, staying the preliminary injunctions issued for 24 states by the District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Western District of Louisiana. Therefore, the CMS vaccine…
U.S. Supreme Court Stays Implementation of OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS Requiring Vaccination or Weekly Testing Policy
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted emergency relief to the petitions of numerous states, businesses, and non-governmental organizations by staying the implementation and enforcement of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). Under the original ETS, private employers with 100 or more employees were required…
Driving Cultural Change To Reduce Corporate Risk: Lessons Learned From The Field
Government enforcement efforts are on the rise. In December 2021, the Secret Service announced an initiative to more aggressively counter pandemic-related fraud. Empowered by new personnel, new funding, and new legislation, the DOJ has bolstered its antitrust enforcement efforts. Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s new director of enforcement, shared his aggressive SOX enforcement plans in a…
California Employers Face New Obligations Under Cal/OSHA’s Revised COVID-19 ETS
For the second time, the standards-setting board for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has readopted, with revisions, the agency’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). The revised ETS become effective on January 14, 2022, and impose new obligations on nearly all employers in the Golden State.
Background on the Cal/OSHA…
New Year Means Newly Expanded Enforcement Authority for Cal/OSHA
In our annual California Legislative Update, we briefly explained that SB 606 expanded the enforcement authority of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) in various ways. With the new law’s effective date (January 1, 2022) right around the corner, we are providing a more detailed breakdown on the two new categories…
Delaware Supreme Court Shines Spotlight on Boilerplate Purchase Agreement Provisions
By John Stigi & Eugene Choi
This December, the Delaware Supreme Court penned two decisions that shined the spotlight on purchase agreement provisions that are often afterthoughts in negotiations. In Golden Rule Financial Corporation v. Shareholder Representative Services, No. 61, 2021, 2021 WL 5754866 (Del. Dec. 3, 2021) (ORDER), the Court reviewed the post-closing “true up” language and determined that…
California Department of Public Health Requires Health Care Workers to Receive the Booster Vaccine by February 1, 2022
By Ian Michalak
On December 22, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) issued an order requiring workers in health care facilities to receive booster vaccinations to help combat COVID-19. Health care workers must receive the booster vaccine by February 1, 2022.
The order uses the same definition for “Health Care Facilities” as the August 5, 2021…
OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide
On December 17, 2021, in a “Friday Night Surprise” the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the Stay on the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This seminal ETS applies to employers with 100 or more employees and requires that employees be either (1) vaccinated; or (2) weekly tested and…
Sixth Circuit Reinstates OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard for Private Employers Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations or Weekly Testing
On November 4, 2021, in response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). You can read our prior article about the ETS here. Generally, the ETS mandates all employers with 100 or more employees to require employees be…
New York City Requires Private Sector Employees to Be Vaccinated by December 27
By Alisa Sherbow & Sean Kirby
On December 6, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a vaccine mandate which requires that all private sector employees who work in a workplace in the presence of another worker, or who interact with a member of the public, be vaccinated by December 27, 2021. The mandate applies to approximately 184,000 businesses…
California Department of Public Health Requires Universal Indoor Masking Through January
On December 13, 2021, the California Department of Public Health issued binding guidance requiring all Californians statewide to mask indoors irrespective of vaccination status. The new guidance supersedes California’s current guidance, which only requires masks for individuals on public transit and in K-12 schools and childcare facilities, emergency shelters and cooling centers, healthcare settings,…
NYC Council Passes Bill Granting Paid Sick Leave to Parents Vaccinating Children Against COVID-19
On November 23, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring New York City employers to provide employees who are parents or legal guardians of a child with four hours of paid COVID-19 child vaccination time, per injection and per child (“Child Vaccination Leave”). The bill amends New York City’s Earned Sick and…
Challenged – OSHA’s Rule Mandating COVID Vaccinations or Weekly Testing for Employers Halted
On November 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its much-anticipated mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule (“the Rule”). The Rule requires employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate covered employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or require covered employees that are not fully vaccinated to test for COVID-19 at…
EEOC Publishes New Guidance Regarding Objections to COVID-19 Vaccines Based Upon Employee Religious Beliefs
On October 25, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) expanded its prior guidance “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” to include recommendations for employers who receive religious objections from employees in response to the employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Specifically, the EEOC added section…