In light of the recent crippling Russian cyber-attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, now is a perfect time for a refresher course on cybersecurity.
Here are some A+ resources I've previously provided:
In light of the recent crippling Russian cyber-attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, now is a perfect time for a refresher course on cybersecurity.
Here are some A+ resources I've previously provided:
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Employers have been anxiously waiting for the EEOC to publish its guidance for employers on incentives offered to employees in exchange for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Late last week, the EEOC finally released that guidance. The issue is whether the incentive renders the vaccine coerced and therefore non-voluntary, which would be unlawful under the ADA and GINA.
What did the EEOC say:
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Today, my rock-star daughter turns 15.
There's lots I can say about Norah, but I've shared so much over the years that I feel like it'd just be repetitive. So instead of writing about what a sweet, smart, compassionate, talented human she is and has always been, today I'm turning this space over to her.
Norah's "final exam" for her 9th grade English class was a creative writing assignment. They were given very little direction. Just, "You have a week; write something creative." With her permission, today I'm publishing what she wrote. I found it so moving and so outstanding that I think it needs to be shared with as wide of an audience as possible. Enjoy.
And please take a moment to wish Norah a happy birthday. You'll find her on Twitter @normlmao_ or @norahmariemusic.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
If an employer is supposed to keep an employee's vaccination status as a confidential medical record, how is an employer supposed to enforce the CDC's most recent guidance that permits fully vaccinated individuals to unmask?
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Yesterday's post about COVID-19 vaccine-card fraud got me thinking about what we need to do to combat it (other than trying to spot fakes when we can and diligently enforcing the criminal laws that already prohibit this fraud). My answer:
A national digital vaccine passport.
But it's complicated.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards are readily available online, and their prevalence will only grow with the CDC's loosening of its mitigation guidelines for the fully vaccinated.
The problem has gotten so bad that the FBI is now warning people that making or buying a fake COVID-19 vaccination record card is a federal crime.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
One open issue stemming from the CDC's about-face on masking for the fully vaccinated is how OSHA would address these new guidelines. When OSHA published its Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace in late January, it made it clear that one's vaccination status had zero impact on an employer's obligation to require masks in all cases.
Workers who are vaccinated must continue to follow protective measures, such as wearing a face covering and remaining physically distant, because at this time, there is not evidence that COVID-19 vaccines prevent transmission of the virus from person-to-person.
In the world of Covid, three and half months is an eternity, so here we are just three and a half months later living in a country without facial coverings for the fully vaccinated. So what says OSHA?
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Today, a break from talking about the CDC and masks (but more tomorrow) to bring you a truly awful nominee for the Worst Employer of 2021.
For the past two years, a human trafficker or enslaver hoisted the "Worst Employer" trophy at year's end. Will 2021 bring us a threepeat?
NBC News reports on a strong contender:
The FBI was at a massive Hindu temple in New Jersey on Tuesday that has been accused in a lawsuit of luring Indian men from marginalized communities to the U.S. and forcing them to work nearly 90 hours a week for around $1 an hour.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Friendly reminder that under HIPPA, your vaccination status is private.
Or this tweet:
The rule is simple, HIPAA protects EVERY American from disclosing ANY of their health records to ANYONE.Their point? That medical privacy laws protect their vaccination status, and it's illegal for any business to ask as a condition of anything.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Yesterday, the CDC updated its Covid guidance to remove all masking and social distancing guidance for those of us who are fully vaccinated. According to the CDC—
But what does this really mean? And, more to the point, how you know who's vaccinated and who's not so that you can permit them to remove their masks inside your business?
But what does it really mean? And, more to the point, how do you know who's vaccinated and who's not so as to allow anyone to be unmasked?
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Last evening, Governor DeWine held a statewide address to announce the availability of the Pfizer vaccine for Ohioans ages 12 - 15. That news was not shocking. The rest of what he had to say, however, was.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
This weekend, the Ohio Employer Law Blog turns 14!
May 9, 2007 — my first post ever here at the blog. 3,628 posts and three law firms later, happy birthday to me!
May 9 offers another reason to celebrate, Mothers' Day. I haven't seen my mom in 19 months, but with vaccines hopefully on the immediate horizon for my kids, I should be able to give my mom a sorely missed and needed hug really soon. This long-distance message will have to do until then.
Today also happens to be my mom's birthday, so everyone please wish her a happy one!
Next week, more legal stuff, starting with some good, and not-so-good, news from the EEOC.
* Photo by Marty Southwell on Unsplash
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
The Telegraph recently tweeted about what is being called "Covid anxiety syndrome." The whole thread is a fascinating read, but its bottom line is that some people are reacting irrationally by continuing extreme Covid mitigation measures when they are no longer needed.
The Guardian quotes professor Marcantonio Spada London South Bank University, who first theorized this syndrome after noticing people were developing a particular set of traits in response to Covid.Fear is normal. You and I are supposed to fear the virus because it's dangerous. The difference, however, in terms of developing a psychopathological response is whether you end up behaving in … overly safe ways that lock you into the fear. My expectation is we're going to have … chunks of the population that are avoiding re-engagement and constantly worrying about the virus for months to come, whether they are vaccinated or not.
So here's my question for you — do you have employees experiencing such behavior? Continuing to insist on remote work even after being fully vaccinated? Wearing a mask all of the time, even when alone in an office? Insisting on constantly wiping down surfaces as if they are disinfecting a crime scene?
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.
The National Federation of Independent Business just released the results of its most recent Covid-19 Small Business Survey. 546 businesses, all with fewer than 200 employees, provided their experiences on a variety of Covid related topics. The results that jumped off the page, however, were the two questions about the Covid vaccine.
Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
Subscribe to the feed or register for free email updates.