radar Health Law Scan

Legal Insights and Perspectives for the Healthcare Industry
Our healthcare team recently launched a publication series highlighting the global impact of COVID-19 on healthcare transactions. Around the globe, the healthcare industry has faced similar issues from the unprecedented pandemic, prioritizing their operational response to COVID-19. Now, as countries begin to reopen, healthcare entities may refocus on planning for long-term transformation of their business models. In this series, we will explore how the pandemic impacted healthcare transactions in specific regions and what we can expect in a post-pandemic world.

Our energy regulatory team published a blog post highlighting the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) recently issued Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences for fiscal year 2020. The report documents key aspects of those events that the NRC considers “Abnormal Occurrences” (AOs) and allows the regulated community to review the operating experience of reactor, medical, and industrial users of radioactive materials.

Members of our labor, employment, and benefits team have been busy providing analysis on continued updates to state COVID-19 rules and standards. We know these resources are valuable to readers of Health Law Scan, and we preview two recent LawFlashes that may be of particular interest to those operating in California and New York below.
Members of our labor, employment & benefits and healthcare teams recently published a LawFlash discussing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) updated COVID-19 guidance for employers. The long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is effective as of June 10, 2021, but only applies to employers in healthcare and healthcare support services settings. Employers covered by the ETS have 14 days (from the date that the ETS is published in the Federal Register) to comply with most provisions, and 30 days (also from the date of publication in the Federal Register) to comply with the provisions related to physical barriers, ventilation, and training.
Members of our labor and employment and employment counseling teams recently published a LawFlash discussing the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) long-awaited update to its technical assistance guidance on COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and other federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws.

Update: States to Implement CDC Guidance on Mask Use

May 26, 2021 (Updated June 3, 2021)

Members of our labor and employment team have published resources highlighting updates to state mask guidance in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) new guidance that allows fully vaccinated individuals to forgo masks and social distancing requirements in most indoor and outdoor locations.

Members of our healthcare and life sciences teams recently published an analysis of key insurance, liability, and enforcement considerations for organizations providing vaccine access. Highlights include the state and federal laws providing protection to organizations during an outbreak of an infectious disease, what is important for private employers contemplating the administration of closed point-of-delivery vaccination programs to know, and current enforcement trends.
Members of our labor and employment team recently published a LawFlash examining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) new guidance stating fully vaccinated individuals can safely forgo masks and social distancing requirements in most indoor locations. This policy change is due to new information showing reduced risk of COVID-19 infection in vaccinated individuals and reduced risk of transmission from fully vaccinated persons to unvaccinated persons.
Members of our labor and employment team recently published a LawFlash discussing and analyzing the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (the HERO Act), which was signed into law on May 5, 2021 by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The HERO Act requires the New York State Department of Labor and New York State Department of Health to create industry-specific airborne infectious disease standards that must be used by all employers doing business within the State of New York.
We invite Health Law Scan readers to join Morgan Lewis for the 11th Technology May-rathon, our annual series of tailored webinars focused on current technology issues, trends, and developments that are of key importance to our friends and clients.