October 2021
24 STATES THREATEN TO CHALLENGE OSHA VACCINE MANDATE
Recently, 24 state attorneys general submitted a letter strongly opposing President Joe Biden’s proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate among private employers. These states have threatened legal action should the mandate’s efforts move forward. Earlier in September, Biden announced an upcoming mandate for employers with 100 or more employees. These businesses would need to require vaccinations among employees or have unvaccinated individuals submit to weekly COVID-19 testing.
The 24 states who signed the letter made the following key allegations against the mandate, among others:
- It will affect the job market and the ability to fill positions.
- It will increase vaccine skepticism.
- It is too broad, not accounting for nuanced employee situations.
EEOC FILES FIRST COVID-19 ADA ACCOMMODATION LAWSUIT
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently filed a disability discrimination lawsuit in Georgia federal court. This case represents the first COVID-19 pandemic-related lawsuit the EEOC has filed about a remote work request for an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation.
According to the suit, a Denmark-based workplace experience and facility management company with a U.S. headquarters unlawfully denied its employee’s reasonable request for an accommodation for her disability. After requiring employees to work remotely four days per week from March to June 2020, the facility reopened. At that time, the employee requested an accommodation to continue working remotely two days per week and take frequent breaks while working on-site due to a pulmonary condition that causes difficulty breathing. Although the company allowed other employees in similar positions to work from home, it denied her request and, shortly after, fired her, according to the EEOC.
DOL ANNOUNCES FINAL RULE ON TIP REGULATIONS
On Sept. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule that will amend Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations for tipped employees. The final rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Sept. 24, 2021, and is expected to become effective on Nov. 23, 2021.
Tips for Managers and Supervisors - The final rule prohibits managers and supervisors from keeping any portion of an employee’s tips, regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit. New language in the FLSA regulations clarifies that managers and supervisors may only keep the tips they receive directly from customers based on the services they directly and solely provide.
NEW ATTRACTION AND RETENTION NEWSLETTER
We recently released our 4th quarter edition of the Attraction and Retention Newsletter. The newsletter includes the following topics:
- Considering the role of vaccines in the workplace
- Enabling the success of remote workers
- Upskilling can help combat labor shortages
- Workplace outlook and BLS data
FULL ARTICLE INCLUDES: Attraction and Retention Quarterly Newsletter PDF