Employment Law Spotlight

Providing Developments & Insight on Trending Topics in Employment Law

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Stephanie Alvarez Salgado

Latest from Employment Law Spotlight

Employment Law Spotlight

Texas Court Affirms Employers’ Freedom to Require COVID-19 Vaccine for Employees

By Paul Knettel & Peter Stuhldreher

June 14, 2021

COVID-19 has presented no shortage of legal questions for employers, from shutdowns and layoffs to when and how to reopen. And with COVID-19 vaccines now broadly available in the United States, some companies (especially those in high-risk environments like hospitals and nursing homes) face a new question: whether they can require COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. On June 12, 2021, Judge Lynn Hughes in the United States District Court for the Southern District…

Employment Law Spotlight

OSHA Announces COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards for the Healthcare Industry

By James W. Seegers

June 10, 2021

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for the health care industry on June 10, 2021. The ETS will apply to healthcare and healthcare support service workers with the goal of better protecting them from occupational exposure to COVID-19. This will include, among others, employees working in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and ambulatory care facilities. It will also include employees working as emergency responders (with private employers) and…

Employment Law Spotlight

Texas Passes Bill Prohibiting Businesses From Requiring Vaccine Passports for Customers, But Not Employees

By Justin Caresia, Peter Stuhldreher & Ashlee Grant

June 10, 2021

On June 7, 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continued to emphasize that Texas is open for business by signing into law S.B. 968, which prohibits Texas businesses from requiring customers to provide documentation of COVID-19 vaccination — including through the use of “vaccine passports” — to gain access to or receive service from the business. The law went into effect immediately and specifically prohibits Texas businesses from requiring that customers “provide any documentation certifying the customer’s…

Employment Law Spotlight

Colorado Joins Coalition of States Expanding Antidiscrimination Laws to Include Protections for Gender Identity and Gender Expression

By Nathan A. Schacht & Jacob A. Bruner

June 7, 2021

On May 20, 2021, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed into law HB21-1108, known as the Gender Identity Expression Anti-Discrimination Act (the Act). In relevant part, the Act updates Colorado’s nondiscrimination provisions applicable to individuals seeking protection on the basis of “sexual orientation,” including by adding the terms “gender expression” and “gender identity” to 48 areas of state law (e.g., employment, housing, public accommodation) that prohibit discrimination against members of a protected class. Following on the…

Employment Law Spotlight

Back to Work: Montana Enacts Pro-Employer Changes to Wrongful Discharge Law While Becoming the First State to Protect Employees Based on Vaccination Status

By Nathan A. Schacht & Jacob A. Bruner

May 27, 2021

In a flurry of activity this spring, the state of Montana implemented several changes to how employers may do business in Montana. To start, several amendments to Montana’s Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA) provide increased flexibility to Montana employers. In addition, amendments to Montana’s Human Rights Act add new COVID-19-related protections for employees based on vaccination status. On March 31, 2021, in particular, Montana’s governor signed HB 254, which, for the first time in…

Employment Law Spotlight

California Senate Bill 93: Employers, We Have You Covered

By Sabrina Shadi & Stephanie Alvarez Salgado

May 26, 2021

On April 16, 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 93, which requires certain employers to rehire eligible employees who were previously laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To be eligible for recall, laid-off employees had to have been employed by the covered employer for six or more months in the 12 months preceding Jan. 1, 2020. The new law applies to an owner or operator of a hotel, a…

Employment Law Spotlight

Deciphering The NY Hero Act: A New NY COVID-19 Worker Protection Law

By Fanny Ferdman

May 7, 2021

While New York announced significant easing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent days and weeks, and while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears to be loosening its COVID-19-related guidelines, the state continues its efforts to protect its employees with regard to COVID-19 safety with legislation signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Wednesday night. The New York Health and Essential Rights Act, or NY HERO Act (S.1034B/A.2681B), has four sections, which all New…

Employment Law Spotlight

Breaking News? DOL Rescinds Independent Contractor Rule That Never Took Effect

By Todd Lebowitz

May 6, 2021

Remember when TV news was on at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. and that was it? Every once in a while, there would be a Breaking News! alert, and it was always something really important. They wouldn’t interrupt Diff’rent Strokes for just anything. (Bonus points if you remembered there was an apostrophe in the title instead of the first ‘e.’) But now, with 24-hour news on a dozen stations, everything is Breaking News! – even…

Employment Law Spotlight

Screening Employees for Marijuana in New York Goes Up in Smoke

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo

May 5, 2021

Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalized adult (21 years of age and up) use and possession of up to three ounces of marijuana (or 24 grams of concentrated marijuana). This legalization spurs questions for employers: Are they allowed to prohibit the use of marijuana? Can they discipline for the use of marijuana? Can they drug test for marijuana? We’ve got the answers.…

Employment Law Spotlight

Schrödinger’s Cat? Ninth Circuit Disrupts Trucking Industry with Contractor Misclassification Ruling

By Todd Lebowitz

May 3, 2021

https-www-employmentlawspotlight-com-wp-content-uploads-sites-18-2021-05-kitten-1866475_1920_1200x630-jpg

Have you heard of Schrödinger’s cat? It’s not a real cat, like Felix or Brian Setzer. It’s a hypothetical, seemingly impossible cat that exists only in the world of quantum physics. Schrödinger’s cat refers to a thought experiment in which a cat in a box is simultaneously alive and dead, until you open the box and observe the cat. Then, stubborn as cats are, it will be only one or the other – and…

Employment Law Spotlight

Providing Developments & Insight on Trending Topics in Employment Law

Blog Authors

Texas Court Affirms Employers’ Freedom to Require COVID-19 Vaccine for Employees

OSHA Announces COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards for the Healthcare Industry

Texas Passes Bill Prohibiting Businesses From Requiring Vaccine Passports for Customers, But Not Employees

Colorado Joins Coalition of States Expanding Antidiscrimination Laws to Include Protections for Gender Identity and Gender Expression

Back to Work: Montana Enacts Pro-Employer Changes to Wrongful Discharge Law While Becoming the First State to Protect Employees Based on Vaccination Status

California Senate Bill 93: Employers, We Have You Covered

Deciphering The NY Hero Act: A New NY COVID-19 Worker Protection Law

Breaking News? DOL Rescinds Independent Contractor Rule That Never Took Effect

Screening Employees for Marijuana in New York Goes Up in Smoke

Schrödinger’s Cat? Ninth Circuit Disrupts Trucking Industry with Contractor Misclassification Ruling

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