The Omicron Wave is either nearly here or already here in Connecticut depending on what reports you listen to.
For employers, its difficult to know exactly what to expect particularly over the next few weeks; there is no statewide mask mandate, for example, and no closures anticipated from state or local governments. Yet, this strain
Late Friday night, the Sixth Circuit lifted the nationwide stay on the OSHA so-called “vax-or-text” rule.
For employers, the “why” the stay was lifted is less important than the “here’s what it means”.
And the short answer to that is that implementation of the rule will begin immediately (again). Of course, there’s still an appeal
Over the last two weeks or so, several federal courts have issued nationwide injunctions prohibiting the U.S. government from going forward with mandatory vaccination (or vax and test) rules that have been implemented.
First, it was the Fifth Circuit that stayed the OSHA “Vax or Test” ETS. That case and others around the country have
Put aside, for the moment, fears of the omicron variant. We just don’t know enough about it even though Connecticut had its first case announced this weekend.
And put aside, for the moment, the new mandate in New York City that is requiring all employers to require proof of vaccination for employees.
Rather, I
Last week, I deleted the Twitter app off my iPhone as a bit of an experiment. I’ve done this a few times before — but the start of the pandemic back in early 2020 had me going full on Twitter since then. After all, if it’s important, it’s on Twitter, right?
Well, not exactly. In fact, when I was sick for a few days, I kept turning to Twitter and finding…not much that merited the visit to the app — just boredom. (Never fear though, I can still access it on my computer browser.) Nevertheless, I wondered how much I’d miss if I just took it of my phone.
The first real answer came on Friday when news came of the Fifth Circuit’s beatdown decision to stay enforcement of the OSHA vax or test Emergency Temporary Standard. Turns out you can hear about it the same time as others even without being on Twitter.
But what happened next was interesting for me — nothing. Without being on Twitter, I missed the immediate reactions, overreactions, snark, and, sure, some actual insights.
And that’s ok.
We are entering a time during this pandemic when the changes are happening more incrementally and slowly. Perhaps we are headed for a modest 5th wave here, for example. That might require employers to adjust on the fly again. But speed isn’t everything right now.
Thus, with the luxury of a few more days to ponder and think, where are we now on the OSHA rule?
Continue Reading Court Stays OSHA ETS, But We Know All Too Well It’s Not the Last Word
Being sick over the last week brought me a lot of unexpected “gifts”. Sure, there were the forced afternoon naps (oh, who’s kidding, even a morning nap too) . The watching of “The Price is Right” at least once (or was it twice?). The early start of a post-pandemic diet.
But also the “gift” of
Earlier today, my firm held a webinar featuring a conversation with Heidi Lane of the Connecticut Department of Labor to talk about the upcoming changes to the state FMLA law effective January 1, 2022. My thanks to Ms. Lane for participating and sharing her insights.
You can view the entire webinar here (and I’d encourage
Over the weekend, I was joking with a friend that we’ve seen more changes in employment law in the last 18 months than the last 18 years.
That’s an exaggeration of course. But it certainly does feel like there’s been a lot of changes. Sometimes it’s hard to catch up. So rather than a long
Today, I’ll be presenting on the topic of working remotely (i.e. telework) along with my colleagues Rauchell Beckford-Anderson, Bradley Harper and Louis Schatz.
If you missed it, you’ll be able to view it on demand here.
The topic of remote work has certainly taken off during this pandemic.
But a few stats stood out for
As I’ve hinted in some prior posts, my colleagues and I have been working on an all-new labor & employment webinar series for this fall. Today, I get to announce it.
This webinar series will feature in-depth legal insights and practical takeaways for human resource professionals as well as business stakeholders and decision makers on