COVID-19

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With COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations decreasing, states are slowly loosening restrictions on businesses. For example, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey announced plans to fully reopen by May 19th  with some constraints remaining in place, including mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing.  All three states have announced significant capacity rollbacks for indoor…

Last week, President Biden encouraged employers to pay employees for time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and highlighted the tax credits available for employers with less than 500 employees. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) signed by the President on March 11, 2021 continued the tax credits available under the Families First…

The Biden administration has called for all people at least 18 to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, 2021. Most states have already done so.

A BenefitsPro article cites a 2017 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that found almost 60 percent of employers offer on-site flu vaccinations.…

Philadelphia has joined a growing list of localities to require employers to provide employees paid COVID-19-related sick leave.

When the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expired on December 31, 2020, many employees lost guaranteed paid COVID-19-related leave. As of March 29, 2021, employers with employees working in Philadelphia must provide them paid COVID-19-related…

The country begins the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic with optimism because of three Emergency Use Authorization vaccines and President Joe Biden’s direction that all states make all adults eligible for vaccination by May 1, 2021. As more workers return to work in person, there are key considerations for employers in the coming months.…

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Plan”). The Plan is the most recent stimulus bill enacted to address the COVID-19 pandemic and it comes almost one year to the date the first COVID relief bill containing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed.

The…

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first set of recommendations for fully vaccinated people. Significantly, the recommendations are interim only, and will continue to be updated and expanded by the CDC based on the level of community spread, proportion of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, and emerging scientific…

A key tech initiative as COVID-19 vaccinations begin rolling out are digital health passports. One example is being developed by a group of large tech companies along with the Mayo Clinic as part of the Vaccination Credential Initiative. The Initiative’s digital vaccination record will likely be a smartphone app. The Initiative is leveraging the CommonPass…

On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.” The Guidance incorporates much of the existing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adds to guidance OSHA previously issued, and reflects strategies and…