COVID-19 Archives - Page 7 of 14

Ontario Again Extends Temporary Relief from the ESA’s Termination and Severance Provisions

As we previously highlighted, on May 29, 2020, the Province of Ontario enacted Ontario Regulation 228/20, Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL Regulation), under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The IDEL Regulation retroactively reclassified any temporary layoff that occurred during the COVID-19 Period as an infectious disease emergency leave (IDEL). On June 4, 2021, the Ontario government amended the IDEL Regulation to define the “COVID-19 Period” as the period between March 1, 2020, and September 25, 2021. As a result of this extension, nonunion employees with reduced or eliminated work hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic were considered not to be on layoff under the ESA, but instead continue on deemed IDEL.

Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers and continues to affect employers and employees, especially in light of the delta variant, on September 16, 2021, the Ontario government extended the temporary relief measures from the termination and severance provisions of the ESA until January 1, 2022. As such, the temporary measures found in the IDEL Regulation have been amended to define the “COVID-19 Period” as the period beginning on March 1, 2020 and ending on January 1, 2022.

We summarized the Ontario temporary relief measures in our prior blog post and have highlighted and updated our analysis here.

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Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Issues COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force published guidance last week requiring certain federal contractors to implement COVID-19 safety measures. Most notably, the guidance directs federal contractors to ensure their employees are vaccinated and expands the directive to apply beyond employees directly or indirectly servicing federal contracts.

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Judge Extends Temporary Restraining Order on New York’s Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers Based on Lack of Religious Exemption

On August 26, 2021, the New York State Department of Health’s Public Health and Health Planning Council approved temporary emergency regulations implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for personnel in all entities licensed under Article 28 of the Public Health Law (including nursing homes, hospitals, and diagnostic and treatment centers), home care agencies licensed or certified under Article 36, hospice programs licensed under Article 40 and adult care facilities licensed under Article 7 of the Social Services Law. Notably, the final version of the approved emergency regulations removed the religious exemption that was present in the initial proposed version. As a result, health care workers were required to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September 27 — and personnel at other covered entities to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by October 7 — unless a medical exemption is granted. On September 13, 2021, several doctors and nurses who allege that their sincere religious beliefs compel them to refuse COVID-19 vaccination, filed suit (Dr. A, et al. v. Kathy Hochul, et al.) claiming the New York State Department of Health’s failure to recognize religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional. Plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining the Department of Health from enforcing the mandate.

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COVID-19 Travel to the United States: International Travel Restrictions May Be Eased from November 2021

The travel restrictions implemented by the U.S. government during the height of the pandemic may be easing. However, there is not a concrete list of rules for what will be required of travelers coming directly into the U.S. In this alert, we examine previous entry restrictions, how those may change going forward and which vaccines will be recognized by the U.S.

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President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan Mandates Vaccines for Many Employees

On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced his six-pronged COVID-19 Action Plan, which will have a significant impact on employers across the country by mandating vaccinations for many employees. Many key details — including what exemptions may apply to mandatory vaccinations — remain unknown until additional federal guidance is provided in the upcoming weeks.”

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Vaccine Passport, S’il Vous Plaît

As jurisdictions across the world grapple with the effects of the more infectious delta variant, many governments either have taken or are considering more restrictive measures to reduce infection rates and community spread of COVID-19. To encourage individuals to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, countries have developed creative initiatives, including by offering lottery tickets for cash prizes and tickets to soccer (i.e., football) matches, entering raffles to win cars, offering soused herring and providing barbeque sausage sandwiches. Despite these incentives and other forms of encouragement, vaccine hesitancy lingers. As such, some countries in which the “carrot” (i.e., reward) approach has not enticed enough individuals to receive a vaccination now have resorted to the “stick” (i.e., punishment) approach to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination rates. France is an example of a country that has taken a tougher stance on encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations.

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