The Stoel Rives Labor & Employment Law Blog
To address the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Delta variant surge, President Biden announced yesterday that he will implement sweeping new requirements to increase vaccination rates across the country. Among the changes:
Last week, Governor Kate Brown announced that the State of Oregon would require that all health care workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they could prove they were entitled to a religious or medical exception. The Oregon Health Authority (“OHA”) just released its administrative rule implementing the Governor’s announcement: effective October 18, 2021, health…
Mask Mandate
Effective August 23, 2021, masks will once again be required in indoor public spaces in Washington, regardless of vaccination status, for everyone over the age of five. Masks will not be required for vaccinated employees in office spaces that are not public-facing, but are still required for unvaccinated employees in such offices. Masks…
On August 19, 2021, just two weeks after announcing that all Oregon health care workers must either be fully vaccinated or test weekly for COVID-19, which we blogged about here, Governor Brown announced that vaccinations will be mandatory for health care workers starting October 18, 2021, assuming the vaccines have full FDA approval by…
As we previously wrote about, the State of Oregon and Multnomah County are each imposing new indoor mask requirements beginning today, August 13, 2021, in response to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic driven by the Delta variant. Yesterday, the State and County released details of their respective requirements (the “Rules”), which overlap in most respects…
While many employers initially were hesitant to institute mandatory COVID vaccinations, the recent surge driven by the Delta variant and announcements from large organizations—including the U.S. military, United Airlines, and major health care systems across the country—have caused many employers to revisit mandatory vaccination policies.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Justice…
Governor Kate Brown announced today that the State of Oregon would impose a state-wide mask mandate that applies to indoor spaces (effective date to be determined). It is unclear at this time whether employers will be required to mandate masks for employees and customers (or take other COVID-19-related precautions), and whether penalties will be imposed on…
Earlier this afternoon, Multnomah County announced that effective Friday August 13 all individuals age five and older in Multnomah County will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. A copy of the County’s announcement is available here. Based on the announcement, we expect that the mask mandate will not …
The latest COVID-19 surge driven by the Delta variant has caused many employers — not the least of which are health care employers — to revisit mandatory vaccine requirements for employees. While many health care systems around the country already have mandated that their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, a…
Following an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and in line with recent CDC guidance designed to curb the well-publicized spread of the Delta variant, the Oregon Health Authority (“OHA”) is again recommending that all individuals, including those who are fully vaccinated, wear masks in indoor public settings. The recommendation applies statewide, but it is…
