In a special session this week, the Utah State Legislature passed a bill aimed at undermining the federal vaccine mandate for large employers.  Like previously existing law, SB 2004 mandates that any Utah employer requiring vaccination for COVID-19 must allow employees an exemption for medical or reasons or because of religious beliefs.  The Utah bill…

Way back on October 10, 2019, California Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”), which essentially made it unlawful for California employers to require workers or job applicants to execute arbitration agreements requiring them to waive their rights to sue in court for violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or the…

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:

  1. OSHA is developing a new emergency rule directing all businesses with 100 or more employees to require their employees be (1) vaccinated
…

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…

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…