Health Law Scan

Members of our labor and employment group published a LawFlash discussing the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updates on its COVID-19 guidance, detailing its view of employer obligations under Title VII when evaluating religious objections to COVID-19 vaccination mandates and requests for accommodation based on pregnancy under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. These updates may be of interest to healthcare employers as they continue to navigate through vaccine mandates.

Members of our labor, employment and benefits team published a LawFlash covering Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s recently issued Executive Order No. GA-40 (EO GA-40), which purports to prohibit vaccine mandates, but in reality expands the scope of mandatory exemptions to such mandates.

In our latest Fast Break session and on the heels of recent announcements from the Biden-Harris administration and the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) granting of full authorization for the Pfizer vaccine in August, we were joined by Dan Kadish, a Morgan Lewis labor and employment associate and one of the leaders of our Morgan Lewis COVID-19 vaccine task force, to discuss how these updates may impact employers in the healthcare industry.

Our immigration team recently published a LawFlash discussing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) new policy under which all applicants for a green card must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This resource may be of interest to Health Law Scan readers, as this policy will impact green card applicants in the healthcare sector.

Members of our labor, employment, and benefits team recently published a LawFlash discussing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) updated nonbinding COVID-19 guidance applicable to all industries not otherwise covered by the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard.

Members of our labor and employment and healthcare teams recently published a LawFlash covering the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) definitive guidance which specifically concluded that “federal law does not prohibit public or private entities from imposing vaccination requirements for vaccines that are subject to emergency use authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

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.

We hosted a very informative Fast Break session last week discussing what healthcare providers need to know as they prepare their employees to return to work and try to get back to a sense of normalcy. If you weren’t able to join us for the live program with Daniel Kadish, one of the leaders of Morgan Lewis's COVID-19 compliance and counseling team, be sure to access the presentation on demand or peruse the main takeaways below.

We invite Health Law Scan readers to join Morgan Lewis for an upcoming webinar series, Privatization of the Vaccine Rollout, which will explore the legal and regulatory issues for businesses that have become increasingly central to rolling out vaccines in the United States and around the globe.

Given the significant push to vaccinate the public since the start of 2021, the increasing availability of vaccines, and the need to recruit additional personnel to administer vaccinations, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has again amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to accommodate some workforce barriers that had not been previously contemplated.