Mandating and incentivizing vaccines remains a complicated and controversial topic. Nexsen Pruet’s Bridget Blinn-Spears breaks down what the new EEOC guidance means for businesses and employees.
Articles Discussing Human Resources And Other Workplace Topics.
OSHA Issues COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard and Updated Voluntary Guidance for Other Industries
On June 10, 2021, OSHA published on its website a 40+ page Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) limited to employers in the healthcare sector. President Biden issued an executive order in January ordering the Department of Labor (DOL) to consider issuing an ETS for businesses to follow during the pandemic, and, if DOL deemed one necessary, to issue an ETS by March 15. The delay of almost three months has seen dramatic changes including millions of people vaccinated, states lifting restrictions, and the CDC loosening restrictions for fully vaccinated people.
OSHA Issues New COVID-19 Guidance for All Industries Not Covered by Its ETS for Healthcare
On June 10, 2021, simultaneous with the issuance of its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 focusing on healthcare employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its new COVID-19 guidance for all industries not covered by the ETS.
OSHA Finally Issues Its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard, Confines It to Healthcare
On the morning of June 9, 2021, the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced it completed its review of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19. At a hearing later that day before the U.S.
OSHA Issues COVID-19 Workplace Safety Standard for Healthcare Employers
After more than 15 months of legal, scientific, and business debate about whether an OSHA standard specific to COVID-19 is appropriate, OSHA recently issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) governing COVID-19 precautions in the healthcare setting. OSHA has also updated its non-mandatory COVID-19 guidance for employers in all industries.
Insurance Brokers and COVID-19 Shutdowns
In a recent case, Judge Barry Ashe gave a thorough summary of the Louisiana law for claims against insurance brokers for failing to obtain coverage for COVID-19 government mandated shutdowns. B&P Rest. Grp., LLC v. Eagan Ins. Agency, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88330 (E.D. La. May 10, 2021).
The case
Ready or not, back to the workplace we might go…
Before the pandemic hit, remote work was, in most cases, a thing of the future. Concern about the productivity of remote workers caused many employers to resist these arrangements. Employees, they thought, would rather be taking care of laundry or kids than taking care of their duties. Enter Covid-19 –
U.S. Supreme Court Confirms Narrow Scope of Federal Computer Fraud Claim Often Used in Trade Secret Litigation
On June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), a cybercrime statute providing civil claims against someone who “exceeds authorized access” to a computer system to obtain trade secrets or other information, does not apply to employees or others who steal information from computer systems to which they had legitimate, technical access. This ruling sharply curtails the CFAA’s effectiveness as a litigation option against employees who violate employers’ computer use policies or confidentiality restrictions to divert company information for themselves or a prospective competing employer.
Supreme Court Narrows the Scope of Claims Available Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is an anti-hacking statute making it illegal “to access a computer without authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled to so obtain or alter.” Violations of the statute may
The “Open Door” May Not Be Enough!
In this podcast, Littler shareholders Bruce Sarchet and Bob Long discuss a common feature of many American workplaces: the “Open Door” policy. But adopting such a policy is just the first step. Bruce and Bob discuss the actual application of these policies, providing examples where managers and supervisors not
Managing the Size and Structure of Your Post-Pandemic Workforce
For employers, the decision to terminate an employee is never an easy one. Ripple effects, including the burden on remaining staff and a potential decrease in productivity, can be felt across the organization. Even in the best of times, termination decisions are fraught with innumerable risks, including the ever-present threat of litigation.
Dear Littler: How do we Know Which State’s Laws Govern the Leaves and Benefits for our Wandering Workers?
Dear Littler: Thank you for answering our question last month about what wage and hour issues we needed to consider for our “wandering worker” who moved to North Dakota and wants to continue remote work. Of course, now that that issue is resolved, we have another question for you.
EEOC Hosts Virtual Hearing on Civil Rights Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Workplace
In its first all-virtual/remote video-cast hearing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discussed workplace civil rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for employees and employers. (Transcript of the April 28, 2021 hearing is available here.) During the hearing, Chairwoman Charlotte Burrows acknowledged that the EEOC must help employers navigate
Ninth Circuit Upholds Arbitration for Non-Signatory Defendant
California law is not typically seen as amiable to compelling employees to arbitrate their claims. However, in Franklin v. Community Regional Medical Center, ___ F.3d___(9th Cir. 2021), the Ninth Circuit panel upheld a motion to compel arbitration by a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement based on California law.
Isabelle
“So” What? SCOTUS Adopts Narrow Interpretation of CFAA
It’s not every day the U.S. Supreme Court issues an opinion relevant to this blog, so we are understandably excited when it does.
In a landmark decision, the Court has ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et seq., does not prohibit improper