OSHA has just announced it is partially reopening the record on the rulemaking for the permanent healthcare COVID-19 standard known as the rule on Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings. For more information please see this post at our OSHA Law Blog.
COVID-19
California Department of Public Health Issues Mandate to Encourage Health Care Workers to Get Vaccinated
Due to a rise in transmission of the Delta variant causing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in California, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a new order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals, high-risk congregate settings, and other health care settings. To learn more, read the post on our…
Ready or not, back to the workplace we might go…
Before the pandemic hit, remote work was, in most cases, a thing of the future. Concern about the productivity of remote workers caused many employers to resist these arrangements. Employees, they thought, would rather be taking care of laundry or kids than taking care of their duties. Enter Covid-19 – and most employers around the…
Long-Term Care Facilities Must Educate, Offer, and Report on COVID-19 Vaccinations for Residents and Staff, According to CMS Interim Rule
On May 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services published an interim final rule/guidance to establish COVID-19 vaccination requirements for Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities. The requirements are applicable to both residents and staff. LTC facilities have already been managing COVID-19 vaccination requirements both…
One Year Later: Five Post-COVID-19 Considerations For Healthcare Employers
Posted on
Most healthcare employers have been dealing with COVID-19 for a year now. With vaccines widely available for this workforce, we offer five considerations for healthcare employers as they move toward a post-pandemic environment.
- Will COVID-19 vaccinations become an annual event?
For years many healthcare providers have required employees to get a flu shot. Are we…
Updated Guidance for Healthcare Personnel Returning To Work Post-Vaccination
As more healthcare employees receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, questions about when vaccinated healthcare employees can return to work if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms continue to arise. Coupled with ongoing staffing shortages in the industry, the need for employees to return to work when safe to do so is a pressing concern for many healthcare employers.
To…
CDC Issues Post Vaccine-Considerations for Healthcare Personnel
By Sarah R. Skubas & Mary M. McCudden on
As employers in healthcare settings prepare to administer the vaccine to healthcare personnel, they are likely grappling with new practical considerations. Undoubtedly, one of the most widespread challenges is how to manage employees with potential post-vaccination systemic signs and symptoms (“signs and symptoms”), without unnecessarily imposing work restrictions to the detriment of patient care demands. …
Year-End Considerations and Resources For Healthcare Employers
Posted in COVID-19
Surging COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 vaccination considerations and post-election impacts are just a few of the many evolving issues facing healthcare employers as we head into the end of 2020. If you missed our recent Healthcare Industry Key Trends webinar, please consider watching as our Jackson Lewis colleagues touch on many of these issues and…
To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate… That Is The Question
By Sarah R. Skubas on
Requiring flu vaccines is nothing new for healthcare employers. However, in light of COVID-19, there is a renewed emphasis and discussion concerning flu vaccines in the workplace. Healthcare employers are unique because often state or municipal laws regulate when a healthcare employer must require flu vaccinations, permissible exceptions and documentation requirements. These regulatory obligations are…
DOL Strikes Back: Redefines Health Care Provider Exception to FFCRA
By Patricia Anderson Pryor on
Posted in COVID-19
Last month a New York federal court left health care providers in a lurch, when it vacated the Department of Labor’s definition of who could be exempted as a health care provider from the FFCRA leave obligations. Thankfully, the DOL has stepped back in to provide further clarity on this issue, providing revisions and clarifications…