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“Preserve” Your Constitutional Rights, But Not Against A Private Employer

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Mathew Moldawer
03/27/2023
COVID-19, First Amendment Protections, Religious Discrimination
The world is seemingly going back to pre-Covid normalcy.  Masks, while still present some places, no longer litter the trashcans outside grocery stores and restaurants.  People are taking a big breath of fresh air, and not just six feet from someone. Nevertheless, litigation concerning Covid and company policies regarding the vaccine linger in courts around the U.S.  One such case has seemingly come to an end and the company is out of a...
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New York State Trial Court Denies Union’s Request for Preliminary Injunction to Restore Unvaccinated Employees

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
05/18/2022
COVID-19, Public Sector Employment Law
On April 21, 2022, New York Judge Judy H. Kim denied a request for a preliminary injunction filed by various unions on behalf of approximately 1,300 unvaccinated New York City (NY City) employees who were terminated from their positions on February 11, 2022.  The Plaintiffs in this case seek declaratory relief from the court, claiming their termination was in violation of their due process rights as well as a permanent injunction to require the...
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Fourth Circuit Dismisses Vaccine Mandate Suit By Federal Employees

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
04/21/2022
COVID-19
Two federal employees sued President Biden, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Defense, seeking to enjoin Executive Order 14,043.  That Executive Order, with limited exceptions, requires that all federal employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  The employees argued the vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and violates their rights to due process, privacy, and bodily integrity.  They asked the United States...
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COVID-19 May Be A Disability Under the ADA

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
02/24/2022
COVID-19, Disability & Leave
A U.S. District Court in Alabama recently addressed whether COVID-19 can be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Brown v. Roanoke Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, No. 3:2021cv00590 – Document 22 (M.D. Ala. 2022). In the summer of 2020, Lucious Brown was terminated from her position as a certified nursing assistant for failing to report to work on the 13th day of a 14-day COVID-19 isolation period.  At the time of...
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OSHA Announces Withdrawal of Large Employer Vaccination and Testing ETS

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
01/27/2022
COVID-19, Workplace Safety
As our Garrett Wozniak wrote on January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court stayed implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) vaccination or test Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”)  for large employers (100 or more employees).  The stay effectively ended the ability for OSHA to implement this ETS, as the Supreme Court ruled that the stay would remain in effect following a final decision from...
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Supreme Court Blocks OSHA ETS Requiring Vaccination or Testing

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
01/13/2022
COVID-19, Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court today issued a stay blocking the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccination or test rule for employers with 100 or more employees.  NFIB v. OSHA, Nos. 21A244 and 21A247 (Jan. 13, 2022).  The majority found that those challenging the  Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS")  “are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Secretary [of Labor] lacked authority to impose the mandate.” In its, 6-3 per curiam...
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OSHA Vax-or-Test Rule Reinstated

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/18/2021
COVID-19
Late yesterday, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved a nationwide injunction against OSHA's emergency rule requiring  employers with at least 100 workers to mandate that their employees get vaccinated against Covid-19 or get tested regularly. This morning, the United States Department of Labor announced that employers have until January 10, 2022 to come into compliance with the rule, although it agreed to defer enforcing...
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EEOC Issues New Guidance on When COVID-19 Qualifies as a Disability

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
12/15/2021
Agency Activity, COVID-19
On December 14, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on when COVID-19 constitutes a disability under Title I of the ADA.  Under the ADA, a person can be an individual with a disability in one of three ways: “Actual” Disability:  a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, etc.); “Record of” a Disability: the person has a...
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Georgia Judge Issues Nationwide Injunction Halting Implementation of Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
12/08/2021
COVID-19
On December 7, 2021, a federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction blocking the implementation of the federal contractor vaccine mandate.  The halting of Executive Order 14042, which requires all contractors and subcontractors performing work on certain federal contracts to ensure that their employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, presents yet another twist in the legal fights over the vaccine mandate. While previous...
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Missouri Court is First To Block Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate Rule

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/30/2021
COVID-19
A federal court in Missouri has issued a preliminary injunction in a case brought by 10 states (Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire) challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ interim rule issued on November 5, 2021.  The CMS rule requires certain healthcare workers at providers that participate in Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19,...
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