Reasonable Accommodation

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Several updates related to COVID-19 vaccination mandates occurred this week at the federal and local levels.  On December 17, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on the federal government’s mandate that employees of covered employers receive a COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly testing.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) will begin enforcing the previously stayed Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) on January 10, 2022.
Continue Reading Hello Again: OSHA’s COVID 19 Vaccination Mandate for Private Employers is Back, and NYC has Its Own

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (“OSHA”), issued its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), applicable to employers with at least 100 employees.  The ETS was issued by OSHA pursuant to President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, announced last month, and provides minimum requirements in the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies.  The 490 page ETS is effective immediately, and preempts or supersedes any state or municipal law that conflicts with its requirements.
Continue Reading OSHA Issues Long-Awaited Emergency Temporary Standard for Employers

Some people continue experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for weeks or months after first developing COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have defined “long COVID” as “new or ongoing symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.”  With the rise of long COVID, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) provided guidance on Long COVID and how it qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).
Continue Reading In It For The Long Haul: Employer Obligations To Employees With Long COVID Symptoms

On October 17, 2018, the New York City Council passed several bills, referred to as a parental empowerment package, which will likely be signed by the mayor. These bills require employers with 15 or more employees to provide a “lactation space” and “lactation accommodation” for employees who need to express and store breast milk.  Specifically, employers will be required to designate a private sanitary place that is not a restroom for purposes of expressing milk. Although since 2008 New York State law has required employers to allow nursing mothers with breaks to express milk, New York City will require a dedicated room for this purpose. In addition to providing a lactation space, which must be in reasonable proximity to the employee’s work area, the law will also require that employers provide a refrigerator that is suitable for breast milk storage.
Continue Reading NYC Council Votes to Require Lactation Room and Accommodation Policy

Apparently believing that employers are not capable of considering employees’ requests for reasonable accommodation on their own, the New York City Council has decided to dictate how those requests should be handled. 
Continue Reading NYC Council Obligates Employers to Engage in “Cooperative Dialogue” for Reasonable Accommodation Requests