Labor & Employment Insights

On the heels of President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety directing the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to issue “science-based guidance” to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure, the agency announced its updated guidance entitled Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace (the “Guidance”).  Along with providing information for employees on protecting against COIVD-19 infection, the Guidance provides additional details on key measures employers should take to limit the spread of the virus in the workplace.

Implementation of a COVID-19 protection program.  Although most employers have already implemented safety protocols in response to prior CDC guidance on reopening the workplace, the new Guidance provides greater details on recommended COVID-19 prevention programs which should include the following elements:

• Assignment of a workplace coordinator responsible for COVID-19 issues on the employer’s behalf.

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are being administered to the general population, the Centers for Disease Control (the “CDC”) has issued new quarantine recommendations for individuals who have received the vaccination.

Quarantine not necessary for vaccinated individuals outside a healthcare setting who meet certain criteria.  Under the new CDC recommendations, individuals who have been fully vaccinated (one or two doses depending upon the authorized vaccine) are no longer required to quarantine for 14 days after exposure or suspected exposure to COVID-19 if they meet the following criteria:

• they have been fully vaccinated , with at least 14 days since their final dose;

A recent decision from the New Jersey Appellate Division serves as a warning to employers requiring  employees to sign a bevy of employment-related documents during an orientation period.  The case, Imperato v. Medwell, LLC, concerned the enforceability of Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate all employment related disputes.

The employee acknowledged that she signed the agreement on her fourth day of employment with the employer.  Immediately above the employee’s signature line was a section titled “Voluntary Agreement,” which read in all capital letters:

I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE CAREFULLY READ THIS AGREEMENT, THAT I UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS, THAT ALL UNDERSTANDINGS AND AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND ME RELATING TO THE SUBJECTS COVERED IN THE AGREEMENT ARE CONTAINED IN IT, AND THAT I HAVE ENTERED INTO THE AGREEMENT VOLUNTARILY AND NOT IN RELIANCE ON ANY PROMISES OR REPRESENTATIONS BY THE COMPANY OTHER THAN THOSE CONTAINED IN THE AGREEMENT ITSELF.

The Biden Administration has made it clear that it intends to reverse many of the Trump Administration’s regulatory initiatives.  During his campaign Biden touted himself as a champion of labor, and his administration’s actions immediately after assuming power suggest that he intends to keep this campaign promise.  This article summarizes some of the actions already taken and those contemplated by the new administration.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS.  In his first week in office the Biden Administration signed 22 Executive Orders (EO’s), significantly more than his predecessors, and shows no signs of slowing the pace down.   Some of those affecting employers are discussed below.

Freeze on Proposed and Pending Regulations.  President Biden’s first EO called for an immediate withdrawal of administrative agency rules not yet published in Federal Register so they can be reviewed and approved by the new administration.  The Administration also asked federal agencies to consider postponing the effective date of pending rules published in Federal Register for 60 days and opening a 30 public comment period.