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Federal Court Stays CMS Mandate Nationwide
/in COVID-19By Kim Stanger
Today, the federal district court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction staying the CMS vaccine mandate nationwide (except for the 10 states subject to yesterday’s injunction in Missouri). A copy of the Order is here. Read more
CMS Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers: Resources for Preparing Your Policies
/in Compliance, COVID-19By Kim Stanger
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)’s new vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, facilities must draft and implement policies and procedures by December 6, 2021 to ensure covered personnel are fully vaccinated or exempted by January 4, 2022. (86 FR 61573). That does not give facilities much time, but here are some resources that may help with compliance. (This alert supplements our summary of the CMS and OSHA mandates.) Read more
EEOC Issues Expanded Guidance on Religious Objections to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
/in COVID-19By Curtis Greenwood and Mark Wiletsky
On October 25, 2021, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated and expanded its technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing questions regarding vaccine mandates and religious accommodations at a time when COVID-19 vaccination mandates are becoming more widespread. This expanded technical assistance provides important information for employers, employees, and applicants when navigating vaccine-related religious accommodation requests.
The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion. Title VII provides a right for applicants and employees to request religious accommodation from employer requirements that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. If an employer can show that a religious accommodation would cause an undue hardship on its operations, the employer is not required to grant the accommodation. Read more
Employee Vaccine Information: Privacy Concerns
/in COVID-19, HIPAABy Kim Stanger
Given the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, employers—including healthcare entities—will need to confirm their employees’ vaccination status. Employers and healthcare providers must ensure they comply with privacy rules relating to employee vaccination information, including those imposed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Read more
Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Providers
/in COVID-19, ProvidersBy Kim Stanger
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced that the federal vaccine mandate for nursing facilities will be extended to most other healthcare workers. Unfortunately, the announcement raised more questions than it answered. Here is what we do and do not know so far; we may have to wait for the October regulations to learn the specifics. This article supplements our September 10 client alert “Vaccine Mandates Q&A” and focuses on the mandate applicable to healthcare workers. Read more