This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Madison C. Picard.
It’s the season of football, fall foliage, and unfortunately, the flu. As the temperatures dip and boxes of tissues begin to fly off the shelves, it’s time for employers to prepare to meet the challenges of cold and flu…
In late 2012, we created the Manufacturing Law Blog with the goal of providing our manufacturing clients with a holistic approach to the unique issues they face in their global operations. Starting in 2016, we began a new tradition of dedicating our first three posts of the year to a yearly outlook from our different…
This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Emily A. Zaklukiewicz.
With the arrival of summer, employers may be planning summer activities and offering other benefits or incentives to their employees. Manufacturers, whose employees have been frontline workers for over two years, may be particularly interested in providing such benefits…
Below is an excerpt of an article co-authored with Kayla N. West and Jonathan H. Schaefer that was published in ISHN on February 16, 2022.
The article points out that since the COVID-19 vaccination was made available to the public in late 2020, the topic of vaccination has been widely discussed across the country, in…
This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Emily A. Zaklukiewicz.
This week, we continue our 2022 outlook series with a focus on labor and employment. It goes without saying that over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed certain weaknesses and opportunities in the economy and in…
In late 2012, we created the Manufacturing Law Blog with the goal of providing our manufacturing clients with a holistic approach to the unique issues they face in their global operations. Starting in 2016, we began a new tradition of dedicating our first three posts of the year to a yearly outlook from our different…
Over the last few months, manufacturers have been paying close attention to two COVID-19 vaccination mandates issued by the federal government pertaining to employers. First, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order which imposed several COVID-19 safety standards and protocols, including mandatory vaccination, upon certain federal contractors and subcontractors. Second, at the…
All manufacturers are generally tired of hearing about supply chain problems. These days companies are looking for ways to mitigate shipping delays (i.e., can we ship to a port other than Long Beach?) and the increased cost for raw materials.
Interestingly, I am starting to see consumer product companies and business-to-business manufacturers use similar language…
This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Emily A. Zaklukiewicz.
Last month, President Biden issued an Executive Order which effectively imposes several COVID-19 safety standards and protocols, including mandatory vaccination, upon certain federal contractors and subcontractors. Specifically, the Executive Order directs federal agencies to incorporate a clause into all covered federal contracts which will require federal contractors or subcontractors to comply with guidance published by the White House’s Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Guidance), and which was released on September 24, 2021. Under the Executive Order and Guidance, certain manufacturers and other companies doing business with the federal government will soon be required to mandate vaccination for their workforces and ensure compliance with masking and social distancing requirements, among other requirements.
Continue Reading Mandatory Vaccination and Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors
This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Emily A. Zaklukiewicz.
While employers in healthcare and education have mandated, or considered mandating, vaccination of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, recently employers in many other industries are considering doing so. Manufacturers are now grappling with how best to evaluate the risks associated with such policies, implementation and administration of a mandatory vaccination policy, and the handling of requests for exemption, which may follow. Under federal and many state laws, employers requiring vaccination must provide employees (and applicants with job offers) with the opportunity to request an exemption from vaccination as a reasonable accommodation, based on a disability (or medical condition) or sincerely held religious belief. Employers are required to engage in an interactive process with employees to understand the request and determine whether to approve or deny it. Therefore, it is critical that employers maintain clear policies and procedures for evaluating such requests and understand their legal obligations in doing so. Of particular note, general vaccine hesitancies and personal philosophies are generally not protected by law and employers are not required to consider such exemption requests unless a state or local law provides otherwise.
Continue Reading Navigating Requests for Exemption from Mandatory Workplace Vaccination Policies
