This isn’t the end of the pandemic. But it’s starting to feel a lot closer than it has for a while.
First off, the omicron wave has crested in Connecticut. There may still be more variants to worry about but at least for now (a few weeks? months?), cases are declining significantly in Connecticut —
There’s going to be lots of virtual ink spilled about the politics of the Supreme Court’s decision today and the ultimate ramifications of the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard. In case you hadn’t heard, the Supreme Court this afternoon decided to grant a stay of the OSHA rule, meaning it is on hold and employers now
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
Thanksgiving evokes different emotions in people.
For some, it’s their favorite holiday. A time to get together with friends and family and celebrate all that life has to offer.
For others, it’s not as sweet. It can serve as a bitter reminder of all that has been lost in the past year, perhaps a job
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
Yesterday, I made a return appearance on This Week in Connecticut with Dennis House to discuss mandatory vaccination policies. (My thanks to Dennis for the invite back.)
If you’ve been following the topic, there isn’t a lot new the last few weeks but here’s what employers should know right now about them:
Earlier today, my colleagues and I gave a webinar on mandatory vaccination policies. It’s almost like the President was listening.
This afternoon, President Biden announced that the Department of Labor, and specifically, OSHA will be issuing a new rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully
Continuing an occasional series of interviews with notable locals, today we sit down (virtually) with John Madigan, President and CEO of Executive Talent Services in West Hartford, CT. 
ETS offers a wide range of HR-related consulting services for organizations, from improving performance of individual key talent to developing and integrating an organizational talent management strategy. ETS also provides a "Career