Topic: Coronavirus

US: Labor Department Sets Occupational Safety & Health Meeting

The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health will conduct a virtual meeting on June 22, 2021, to address current workplace issues and its prior work. The details are set forth in today’s U.S. Department of Labor announcement. The DOL and federal OSHA have been shifting priorities since the initiation of the Biden Administration, … Continue reading

US: Cal/OSHA publishes new standard that causes confusion for California employers

By Josh Henderson (US) and Kevin Mayer (US) on June 1, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

On May 28, 2021, the employer community got its first glimpse of a revised Cal/OSHA emergency, temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19 that may become law by June 15, 2021. That day—June 15—is significant because it is the date the governor set as a goal for California to “fully open its economy.” In addition, the CDC’s … Continue reading

Right to work checks: Extension of the COVID-19 concession to 20 June 2021 – now extended to 31 August 2021

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) and Aida Geragusian on May 12, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

In order to obtain a statutory defence against illegal working, employers should check the right to work of all employees’ original documents in person on or before their employment commences. In the absence of a correct check and in the event that an illegal working issue arises, this will assist the employer in avoiding civil … Continue reading

US: Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines and employer health and safety obligations

By Kevin Mayer (US) on April 29, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

Federal OSHA has recently released guidance advising on employer health and safety obligations when employers require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. Specifically, OSHA addresses the potential (albeit rare to date) of an employee who incurs an adverse reaction to a mandated vaccination. In such a situation, the reaction will … Continue reading

US: Why a Mandatory Vaccination Policy May Not Restore Business as Usual for Companies

By Josh Henderson (US) on April 23, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

Throughout the United States, employers are weighing whether to have a mandatory vaccination policy for COVID-19. The objective is to bring employees back to work safely and the understandable desire to return to our pre-pandemic status quo. This post does not advocate in favor or against a mandatory vaccination policy—except to note there may be … Continue reading

COVID-19: Mandatory testing in companies

By Frank Weberndörfer and Claudia Posluschny on April 20, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany

In view of worrying pandemic figures, the German Federal Government has amended the existing “SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance” (Corona-ArbSchV) (the Ordinance). Employers now face the additional obligation of offering COVID-19 testing to their employees, unless the employees work from home. Introduction of mandatory testing… Continue reading

US: New York employers must provide paid time off for COVID-19 vaccinations

By Rachel Kurth (US) on April 1, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

New COVID-19 vaccine paid time off requirement for New York employers New York employers should be aware of a recently enacted New York State law that entitles employees to paid time off from work to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Under this new law, New York employers must grant each employee a sufficient period of time, not … Continue reading

US: New COBRA Premium Subsidy in Third COVID Relief Stimulus Act

By Thomas Reddin (US) and Josh Owings (US) on March 25, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The latest COVID-relief bill, the American Rescue Plan Act, will allow most current and former employees and their dependents to receive fully subsidized COBRA continuation coverage beginning April 1 and continuing through September 30, 2021—even if they never elected COBRA or dropped coverage. To learn more about what employers with group health plans subject to … Continue reading

Extension of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until end September 2021

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 4, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

In the budget on 3 March 2021, the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the CJRS) would be extended until the end of September 2021. The CJRS was due to end on 30 April 2021, but with many restrictions (in particular in the hospitality and leisure sectors) not being fully lifted until June … Continue reading

What options do working parents have when trying to balance their work and home responsibilities during the pandemic?

By Charlotte Emmerson on February 10, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The current national lockdown in the UK has imposed school and childcare closures for all but those children of essential key workers. Even prior to lockdown measures, many children were being sent home regularly to isolate, due to a positive case of Covid-19 in their class or school bubble. This has inevitably left many working … Continue reading

The COVID-19 vaccine @ work: a Dutch employment law perspective

By Maartje Govaert, Annette van Beers, Maartje van der Molen and Christine Daniels on February 5, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, The Netherlands

At a time when the world is suffering from the COVID pandemic, hope rests in the advent of Covid-19 vaccines. In addition, employers are trying to anticipate the ever-changing situation in the workplace. In doing so, they must adhere to existing laws and regulations, which were not written with a situation like this in mind. … Continue reading

Germany: COVID-19-vaccination and employment law

By Frank Weberndörfer on February 1, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany

In Germany, employers are obliged to take all necessary measures, including those to protect against infection (such as offering working from home, increased hygiene protections, social distancing and behavior) and offering voluntary company vaccination programs, in order to protect the health and safety of the workers in the company and to fulfil their obligations under … Continue reading

US: Latest California Labor & Employment Developments from January 2021

By Josh Henderson (US) on January 29, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, General, North America, United States

This past month saw the inauguration of President Biden, who promptly took steps that will have an immediate impact on California employers. Plus, new COVID-related laws took effect, some expired (but may be re-enacted), and a federal appeals court eased the meal/rest break burden on the transportation industry. For a brief summary of these an … Continue reading

Germany: Home office under the new Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance

By Frank Weberndörfer on January 27, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Germany

To combat and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 (the SARS-CoV-2-virus), the German government has issued a new “SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance” (Corona-ArbSchV) (the Ordinance) providing for additional and time-limited measures to reduce workplace-related personal contacts. These measures include the obligation for employers to offer their employees home working, unless there are compelling … Continue reading

Will COVID-19 vaccinations become mandatory for employees in Italy?

By Attilio Pavone on January 19, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, Italy

Italy’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is underway, with health care workers and staff in care facilities at the front of the queue. According to a recent report published by the Health Ministry, more than 1 million people received the inoculation in the first two weeks of the nationwide vaccination campaign. This makes Italy one of the … Continue reading

L’accord national interprofessionnel du 26 novembre 2020 : « soft law » à la française

By Elodie Grangier on December 30, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Coronavirus, Europe, France, General

Le télétravail s’est largement développé en France au fil des années, et naturellement, ce mode de travail a été particulièrement utilisé, bon gré mal gré, par les entreprises au cours de l’année 2020, à la faveur de la crise sanitaire, et des recommandations (plus ou moins liantes) du Gouvernement. Les bases du télétravail ont été … Continue reading

Can French employers require their employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine?

By Elodie Grangier on December 29, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, France

Further to the approval by EU authorities of the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, and further to the recommendations of the French Health authorities on the vaccination programme, the French vaccine campaign against Covid-19 was launched yesterday, at the same time as in all EU countries. In France, the Government established a specific strategy … Continue reading

Can employers require their employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine?

By Charlotte Emmerson on December 3, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Data privacy and GDPR, UK

With the announcement that one of the Covid-19 vaccines has received approval from the UK regulator, employers are now asking whether they can insist that employees are vaccinated before returning to the workplace. There are clearly legal and moral issues that need to be considered. Firstly, the anticipated Covid-19 vaccination programme in the UK will … Continue reading

California imposes new requirement of a COVID-19 Prevention Program

By Josh Henderson (US) on November 25, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, United States

With the approval of Cal/OSHA’s new COVID-19 regulations, the proponents of action-taking won out over those who felt California’s existing laws, regulations, and enforcement arsenal were sufficient to meet the moment. It’s clear that California likes to lead—though it’s not the first state to enact specific COVID-19 standards (Virginia and Oregon got there first).… Continue reading

US: California employers must take measures to curb workplace spread of coronavirus under emergency CAL/OSHA rules

By Josh Henderson (US) and Jackie Karama (US) on November 22, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has approved emergency, temporary COVID-19 regulations under California’s Occupational Safety & Health Act. California employers must now establish specific measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in nearly every workplace in California. The emergency regulations, which the Standards Board approved on Thursday night by a unanimous vote, … Continue reading

Effectuer des enquêtes en milieu de travail… pendant une pandémie

By Taryn Mackie on November 19, 2020 Posted in Canada, Coronavirus

Cette année, les employeurs ont dû relever d’innombrables défis, notamment celui d’effectuer efficacement une enquête en milieu de travail alors que les protocoles de santé et sécurité exigent un certain degré de séparation. Heureusement, les règles de base pour les employeurs sont les mêmes, que ceux-ci effectuent une enquête en respectant une distance de deux … Continue reading

Conducting Workplace Investigations… in a Pandemic

By Taryn Mackie on November 19, 2020 Posted in Canada, Coronavirus

This year has created innumerable challenges for employers— including the challenge of how to effectively conduct a workplace investigation when health and safety protocols demand a certain degree of separation. Fortunately, the same Do’s and Don’ts still apply to employers, whether they are conducting an investigation two meters apart or virtually through Zoom. Don’t (inexcusably) … Continue reading

Long-awaited relief for federally regulated employers: Layoff periods extended further

By Stéphane Erickson on November 17, 2020 Posted in Canada, Coronavirus

To give federally regulated employers more time to recall employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain layoff periods under the Canada Labour Standards Regulations have (again) been temporarily extended as of November 9, 2020, as follows: Employee laid off before March 31, 2020 Three-month layoff: If an employee is laid off for a period of … Continue reading

Un soulagement très attendu pour les employeurs sous réglementation fédérale : nouvelle prolongation des périodes de mise à pied

By Stéphane Erickson on November 17, 2020 Posted in Canada, Coronavirus

Dans le but de donner aux employeurs sous réglementation fédérale plus de temps pour rappeler les employés mis à pied en raison de la COVID-19, certaines périodes de mise à pied en vertu du Règlement du Canada sur les normes du travail ont (de nouveau) été temporairement prolongées, et ce, à compter du 9 novembre. … Continue reading