Articles and Blogs

On January 13, the Supreme Court handed down a pair of decisions on the CMS vaccine mandate rule and the OSHA vaccine-or-test rule. In short, the Court ruled in this opinion that CMS is not prohibited from implementing its vaccine mandate for Medicare-funded facilities (the Interim Final Rule or “IFR”). In a separate opinion,... READ MORE

As Hall Render discussed here and here, on November 4, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) simultaneously released vaccine mandate rules. These, along with the federal contractor vaccine mandate, will require a majority of the American workforce to be vaccinated by January 4, 2022. Since... READ MORE

On Monday, October 11, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-40, requiring that employers provide exemption from any COVID-19 mandate for reason of personal conscience, religious belief or for medical reason, including prior recovery from COVID-19. These exemptions are broader than those required under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (for sincerely... READ MORE

In an April 15, 2021 letter, the EEOC addressed a request for guidance on employer-provided incentives aimed at encouraging employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency indicated, at the time, that they were updating their technical assistance guide to address the extent to which employers may offer employee incentives to vaccinate. Specifically, the... READ MORE

Recently, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 employment practices guidance (Section K, specifically) to include information on how employers can approach the newly released COVID-19 vaccines under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”). As we previously discussed here (“EEOC Provides COVID-19 Guidance Via Webinar (Part... READ MORE

Following the recent Emergency Use Authorizations (“EUAs”) issued by the FDA for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued payment allowances and effective dates for vaccines, antibodies and their administration during the Public Health Emergency (“PHE”). Payment and effective date information can be found on the... READ MORE

On Friday, December 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization (“EUA”) for a vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) in individuals 16 years of age and older. The EUA allows the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be... READ MORE

Since the onset of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) pandemic in early 2020, the federal government has been working diligently through Operation Warp Speed to expedite vaccine development for the prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”). Given the possibility that one or more COVID-19 vaccines may become available before the new... READ MORE