Join us for a virtual seminar in which Bass, Berry & Sims labor & employment attorneys will address a broad range of recent employment law developments and anticipated issues significant to employers and provide practical guidance for understanding the associated impacts and legal challenges.
Topics covered during the webinar will include:
Looking back on 2020, nearly all employers were forced to embrace remote work as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic to comply with state and local lockdowns and to slow and reduce the transmission of the virus. This was a global work-from-home experiment no one signed up for, and as we now know, most businesses were ill-prepared to handle it. However, with nearly a full year of remote work underfoot, companies have either successfully transitioned their business operations to sustain this work-from-home model or have adjusted the work environment to safely resume on-site operations, and have learned some key lessons along the way.
Continue Reading Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Continued Implications
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released updated guidance regarding employers’ and employees’ rights and obligations related to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.
Mandatory Vaccinations are Permitted
On December 16, the EEOC released guidance confirming that employers may require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) prohibiting religious discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination based on disability.
Continue Reading EEOC Issues Updated Employer Guidance Concerning Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations
While managing the fallout from COVID-19 has dominated the focus of employers this year, there have been a number of recent employment law developments unrelated to the virus. During this virtual seminar Bass, Berry & Sims labor & employment attorneys will address legislative developments and agency guidance with respect to a number of these issues
On October 1, Tennessee will join a growing list of states providing additional protections to pregnant employees as the Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (Act) takes effect. Covered employers include those with 15 or more employees. Under the Act, it is unlawful for an employer to refuse to make reasonable accommodations for medical needs arising from pregnancy, childbirth or other related medical conditions unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. This includes requiring employees to take leave under a leave law or employer policy if another reasonable accommodation can be provided. The Act also prevents an employer from taking any other adverse actions against an employee in the terms, conditions, or privileges of an employee’s employment if the individual requests or uses a reasonable accommodation due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, such as counting pregnancy-related absences under a no fault attendance policy.
Continue Reading Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
As states and cities begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions and organizations return their employees to the workplace, employers are forced to navigate an unprecedented and fluid landscape of post-pandemic compliance issues.
This virtual seminar will address the difficult issues facing employers as they return their employees to the workplace and provide practical guidance for understanding
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding workplace safety and addressing topics related to COVID-19, including whether workers should wear a cloth face covering while at work per the CDC’s recommendations.
OSHA generally advises, yes. The FAQs state the following:
“OSHA generally recommends that employers encourage workers to wear face coverings at work. Face coverings are intended to prevent wearers who have Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) without knowing it (i.e., those who are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic) from spreading potentially infectious respiratory droplets to others. This is a known source control.”
Continue Reading OSHA Guidance Regarding Cloth Face Coverings in the Workplace
I recently offered insights in an article on the workplace safety orders issued by state and federal agencies as many employees start the return to work following the COVID-19 pandemic. While these orders serve as helpful guidance on how to businesses can safely reopen, many are also questioning the liability risk that comes with reopening
As the U.S. economy reopens in the coming weeks and months, employers are faced with the challenge of bringing employees back to work to a workplace that is drastically different from the one that existed just weeks ago. While states and cities will have unique requirements and conditions with which employers must comply, they intend
I recently explained how employers can legally respond when an employee tests positive for COVID-19 in an article for the Washington Business Journal. Many employers think the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) protects employee health information, but that pertains specifically to health providers.
For employers, the Americans with Disabilities Act, protects the privacy of a workers health records and information, so employers may ask employees if they’ve tested positive for the coronavirus, but must keep that information confidential in accordance with the ADA.
When it comes to taking an employee’s temperature, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allows employers to get thermometer readings given the potential direct threat to others who could be exposed. I advised in the article to “treat this like a real medical test,” and go to a private room to take someone’s temperature and keep results completely confidential in that employee’s medical file.