On January 14, 2022, following our prior alert found here, CMS issued guidance containing new compliance deadlines for the vaccine mandate for those healthcare employers in the 24 states previously covered by injunctions. The January 14 guidance can be found here.
Supreme Court Stays OSHA Vaccinate-or-Test Mandate
Following up on our update of earlier this week, today the U.S. Supreme Court stayed implementation and enforcement of OSHA’s vaccination or testing ETS, while it allowed CMS’s mandate, which requires COVID-19 vaccination for certain healthcare workers, to go forward. Litigation over the ETS now moves back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for consideration of the merits of the ETS.
U.S. Supreme Court Lifts Injunctions on CMS Vaccine Mandate: Healthcare Employers Should Plan for Compliance by Month’s End
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in a 5-4 per curiam opinion.
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Vaccine Mandate Cases but Status of Mandates Remains Unresolved
On Jan. 7, 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in separate cases challenging two vaccine mandates—OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on vaccination or testing for employers with 100 or more employees, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) vaccine rule for certain healthcare employers.
Kronos Catastrophe: What Employers Can Do to Avoid Panicked Payroll Practices
Ransomware locked up time records for thousands of companies across the country last month, and those records remain unavailable.
Eight Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Listed in 2022 Legal Elite of North Carolina
Eight Nexsen Pruet attorneys have been selected for inclusion in Business North Carolina’s 2022 Legal Elite, a listing of the state’s top lawyers in business-related categories as selected by members of the North Carolina State Bar.
GA District Court’s Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Injunction Upheld by Eleventh Circuit – Should Federal Contractors Now Worry About ETS?
On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary nationwide injunction enjoining the enforcement of Executive Order 14042’s federal contractor vaccine mandate. The government promptly appealed the order to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and also moved to stay the injunction.
Getting Claims Straight: S.C. Supreme Court Clarifies the Contractual Nature of At-Will Employment
In Hall v. UBS, the South Carolina Supreme Court recently issued definitive answers on three certified questions in the employment law context. The opinion clarifies the following S.C. employment law issues:
Fifth Circuit Curtails Nationwide Reach of Injunction Against CMS Vaccine Mandate
On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed the scope of the Louisiana District Court’s ruling, which originally enjoined CMS’s vaccine mandate for health care workers in all 50 states.
Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Blocked Nationwide (NP)
On December 7, 2021, a U.S. District Judge temporarily blocked—nationwide—implementation of the Administration’s “federal contractor and subcontractor vaccination mandate,” a mandate which would have required that all employees of an employer with a “covered contract” be vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than January 8, 2022. As a result, as of the date of this article, no employer in the United States is bound by that mandate. But that could change.
Upcoming Labor Changes—“Micro Units”
Nearly a year after his inauguration, President Biden has completed the shift of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to a pro-union majority. See our prior article here. The reconstituted NLRB will devote significant time reviewing and changing important labor law precedents and rules during the coming year. These changes will likely make it increasingly challenging for employees and employers to remain union-free.
Federal Contractor Vaccination Mandate and Change Orders – Watch Out!
President Biden’s September 9, 2021 Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, generally requires that all employees of federal contractors and subcontractors of any tier working under a federal contract be vaccinated. While this Executive Order applies to “new” federal contracts, it may also apply to any bilateral modifications (change orders) to existing contracts. On September 30, 2021, the Federal Procurement Office issued a FAR Deviation Clause which requires that the Executive Order and subsequent Federal guidance regarding the Executive Order be included in all contracts and subcontracts on federal projects.
The South Carolina Supreme Court Issues an Important Decision on the Viability of Legal Claims by Former Employee for Termination of At-Will Employment
On December 1, 2021, the South Carolina Supreme Court answered three certified questions from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina that provide clarification on the legal rights stemming from the at-will employment relationship, including its termination, and a third party’s potential liability for interfering with such a relationship. The S.C. Supreme Court’s decision in Hall v. UBS Financial Services Inc. et. al. (S.C. Supreme Court Opinion No. 28068), has significance for all employers in South Carolina, including the health care industry in which at-will employment relationships are common.
CMS Vaccine Mandate Temporarily Halted for Covered Health Care Employers Nationwide
On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction, enjoining the CMS vaccination mandate effective November 5, 2021.
Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Blocked in Three States
On November 30, 2021, Judge Van Tatenhove of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the federal contractor COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.
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