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This week’s post was co-authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyer Emily A. Zaklukiewicz.

As 2021 comes to an end, many employers are preparing to meet record and reporting obligations. For employers with 100 or more employees who are required to file the EEO-1 Component 1 Report (EEO-1 Report) annually, this may involve ensuring that the relevant personnel information is accurate. While the annual deadline for submitting the EEO-1 Report is typically March 31 (subject to change and extension), employers must generally choose a “snapshot” period for their EEO-1 Report by selecting one pay period in the fourth quarter of the relevant survey year (i.e., the year prior to submission). One issue related to reporting obligations that has arisen in recent years is how to properly report employee with non-binary genders on the EEO-1 Report.
Continue Reading Reminder to Employers Regarding EEO-1 Reporting Obligations

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

Below in an excerpt from an article authored by Robinson+Cole Labor and Employment Group lawyers Abby M. Warren and Emily A. Zaklukiewicz that was published in Industry Week on July 21, 2021.

For many months, manufacturers have been navigating issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine and its impact on the workplace. This includes implementation of…

This week, we continue our 2021 outlook series with a focus on labor and employment. With the new Presidential administration this year, we anticipate a number of changes in labor and employment laws on the federal level. The following are a few of the issues that may impact manufacturers in 2021.

Federal Government Involvement in…

I am pleased to join as one of the regular contributors to the Manufacturing Law Blog. I am a labor and employment lawyer and I will be providing insights from that vantage point, which Matt Miklave has so ably contributed over the past several years. Matt is retiring from Robinson+Cole and we wish him well as he opens his own firm.

After months of countless updates on the status of the COVID-19 vaccine weaving its way through the regulatory approval process, the vaccine has arrived! Now many employers are grappling with a key question – what type of vaccination program can employers implement?

According to guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on December 16, 2020, employers may implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine program for vaccines that have been authorized or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As part of that program, employers may inquire as to whether an employee has been vaccinated and request proof of vaccination. That being said, according to the guidance, employers should review requests for reasonable accommodation from employees seeking an exemption from vaccination based on a disability or a religious reason. In reviewing such requests, employers would then determine if an unvaccinated employee would pose a “direct threat” to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace that cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by conducting a case-by-case analysis and taking an approach that is meant to limit potential risks.
Continue Reading To Require or Encourage COVID-19 Vaccine. . . That is the Question