In anticipation of the winter holiday season, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new mask mandate that will apply to all businesses and venues that do not require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry. This requirement is in effect from December 13, 2021, until January 15, 2022, after which the state will reevaluate based on current conditions.
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New York City announced a first-in-the-nation COVID-19 vaccination mandate for private sector employees, which will take effect on December 27, 2021. Starting December 14, the “Key to NYC” program―which requires vaccination of workers and customers at indoor dining, fitness, entertainment and performance venues―will require children ages 5-11 to show proof of one vaccine dose to enter those venues. Beginning December 27, the program will require people age 12 and older to show proof of two vaccine doses, except for those who have received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine. Children ages 5-11 will also be required to show proof of their receipt of one dose of a vaccine by December 14 to participate in high COVID-19 risk extracurricular activities, including sports, band, orchestra and dance.
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A federal judge in New Orleans blocked the Interim Final Rule with Comment requiring the vaccination of all staff of health care facilities subject to the health and safety standards under the Medicare Conditions of Participation (“CoPs”) issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) earlier this month.
To read the full text of this blog post by Erin M. Duffy and Samantha Dalmass, please visit the Duane Morris Health Law Blog.
The first California state appellate decision on COVID-19 Business Interruption coverage is now in the books, and it’s one more victory for insurers. In The Inns by the Sea v. California Mutual Ins. Co., Case No. D079036 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist., Div. 1, Nov. 15, 2021), the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District found there was no coverage, notwithstanding the absence of a virus exclusion in the relevant policy. The court’s 36-page opinion provides a thorough and careful analysis of several important COVID-19-related business interruption issues.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorneys Max H. Stern and Holden Benon, please visit the Duane Morris Insurance Law Blog.
On November 6, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an emergency stay with regard to the OSHA ETS on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing. While the fate of the OSHA ETS is unclear, employers should prepare now as if the ETS will go into effect. OSHA’s new emergency temporary standard requires employers with 100 or more employees to develop and implement a policy requiring that employees either become fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing and wear a face covering at work. Employers should promptly determine whether they are covered by the ETS. Covered employers should begin preparing a written policy and develop their approach for determining and documenting employee vaccination status.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
On October 25, 2021, the Biden administration announced additional details on changes to the COVID-19 travel restrictions currently in place. Beginning November 8, 2021, the COVID-19-related regional restrictions on travel by foreign nationals to the United States will be replaced with a vaccine-based system. All nonimmigrants traveling by air to the United States will be required to show an acceptable COVID-19 vaccination and negative COVID-19 test―with certain exceptions based, for example, on age or on medical or humanitarian reasons.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
On October 6, 2021, Philadelphia’s Department of Health announced extensions to the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which applies to covered healthcare personnel and covered higher education individuals. Originally set to go into effect October 15, 2021, Philadelphia has stretched out and staggered the deadlines to provide healthcare institutions, colleges and universities additional time in which to comply.
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California’s latest supplemental paid sick leave law, SB 95, which requires certain employers to provide paid leave to employees for qualifying COVID-19-related reasons, expires on September 30, 2021. No legislation has been passed to extend it and there are no bills on the horizon to replace it. This has left employers wondering what, if any, obligations they have if employees are absent for reasons related to COVID-19.
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Just before the start of the 2021 school year, with COVID-19 rates in Florida rapidly rising, several Florida school boards implemented mask mandates in their school districts. In response, on July 30, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 21-175, which banned mask mandates in schools, declaring that it should be parents—not the government—who decide whether their children are required to wear masks in school.
On August 6, 2021, a group of parents claiming that their children were adversely affected by the governor’s blanket ban on mask mandates in Florida schools filed a lawsuit against the governor, challenging the constitutionality of the ban. On August 27, 2021, following a four-day virtual trial, Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled from the bench that the ban was unlawful, reasoning that DeSantis overreached his authority, misinterpreted state law and disregarded the nation’s best scientific and medical opinions.
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OSHA recently updated its Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace for employers in nonhealthcare settings. The updated OSHA guidance tracks the CDC’s July 27, 2021, recommendations, based upon the increased spread of the delta variant and new evidence that vaccinated persons can spread COVID-19. The updated OSHA guidance, together with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s August 23, 2021, approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine, may lead to increased worker vaccination mandates.
The updated guidance now provides for vaccinated workers to mask in public areas in all workplaces located in counties with substantial or high COVID-19 community transmission.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
