Tara K. Burke

Subscribe to Tara K. Burke's Posts
Follow: Read more about Tara K. Burke

As all eyes are on Washington, DC today with the inauguration of our 46th President. President Biden has laid out an “aggressive plan” to “change the course of the pandemic, build a bridge towards economic recovery, and invest in racial justice.” The 19-page plan the incoming administration published last week calls for legislation to…

On November 16, 2020, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) clarified its guidance permitting critical infrastructure workers to return to work before the end of the standard 14-day quarantine period following exposure to COVID-19.  In this updated guidance, the CDC reiterated its standard recommendation that all individuals known to be exposed to a person…

As we enter flu season (in the midst of a national spike in COVID-19 cases), and it now appears that a COVID-19 vaccine is on the horizon, employers are struggling with whether they should require employees to be vaccinated for seasonal influenza and/or COVID-19 infection.  After the year that many have had, there is a …

You can hear the parents wailing across the country (almost like kindergartners on their first day of school), as states begin to announce their plans to keep physical schools closed or alternate between in-school and virtual classes for the upcoming year. The collective parent wail is outmatched only by that of their employers, who are…

Employers have been struggling with exactly what information they are permitted to disclose to a public health agency when an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19. The EEOC yesterday for the first time advised that, at least under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers may disclose the employee’s name to the public health agency. However, employers…

The EEOC published a recorded webinar on March 27.  The EEOC uses a Q and A format to address 22 common questions from employers covering a broad range of topics including among other things, taking employees temperatures, appropriate and inappropriate disclosure of information related to an employee’s COVID-19 diagnosis, and managing employee accommodation requests including…

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China continues to raise not only health concerns, but issues for employers and employees. Information about the virus continues to evolve. After the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency due to the 2019-nCoV, the Trump Administration announced that, as of…

News of an outbreak of a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China raises issues for employers and employees about the appropriate workplace responses. Many employers are seeking guidance on how best to respond to workplace concerns, especially those with employees engaged in international travel, as well as employers in the healthcare, airline,…

2019 has brought a flurry of new leave and accommodation laws.  In fact, in the first 8 months of 2019, more than 20 new laws in this area have passed.

The states (and US territory) that passed new laws, expanded or otherwise amended existing leave and accommodation laws, or had new laws go into effect…