As we noted in late January 2020, the spread of infectious disease raises particular concerns for healthcare workers who want to do their jobs and care for their patients, while also protect themselves and their families. Perhaps the desire to protect one’s self and family is what motivated a California state healthcare worker to access
Healthcare
One Year Later: Five Post-COVID-19 Considerations For Healthcare Employers
Most healthcare employers have been dealing with COVID-19 for a year now. With vaccines widely available for this workforce, we offer five considerations for healthcare employers as they move toward a post-pandemic environment.
- Will COVID-19 vaccinations become an annual event?
For years many healthcare providers have required employees to get a flu shot. Are we…
Updated Guidance for Healthcare Personnel Returning To Work Post-Vaccination
As more healthcare employees receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, questions about when vaccinated healthcare employees can return to work if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms continue to arise. Coupled with ongoing staffing shortages in the industry, the need for employees to return to work when safe to do so is a pressing concern for many healthcare employers.
To…
CDC Issues Post Vaccine-Considerations for Healthcare Personnel
As employers in healthcare settings prepare to administer the vaccine to healthcare personnel, they are likely grappling with new practical considerations. Undoubtedly, one of the most widespread challenges is how to manage employees with potential post-vaccination systemic signs and symptoms (“signs and symptoms”), without unnecessarily imposing work restrictions to the detriment of patient care demands. …
Year-End Considerations and Resources For Healthcare Employers
Surging COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 vaccination considerations and post-election impacts are just a few of the many evolving issues facing healthcare employers as we head into the end of 2020. If you missed our recent Healthcare Industry Key Trends webinar, please consider watching as our Jackson Lewis colleagues touch on many of these issues and…
Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s 80 Hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave is ‘One Time Use’
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employees who took leave earlier in the year may be requesting additional COVID-19-related leave. Employers covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) are again seeking guidance in determining which employees qualify for the emergency sick leave and family leave portions of the FFCRA. In September 2020, the federal…
Federal Agencies Issue Joint Alert on Imminent Cybercrime Threat to Healthcare Providers
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory stating they have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.
The advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures…
DOL Strikes Back: Redefines Health Care Provider Exception to FFCRA
Last month a New York federal court left health care providers in a lurch, when it vacated the Department of Labor’s definition of who could be exempted as a health care provider from the FFCRA leave obligations. Thankfully, the DOL has stepped back in to provide further clarity on this issue, providing revisions and clarifications…
Assistant Nursing Director Claims COVID-19 Retaliation Against Nursing Home Employer
In what may be the beginning of a wave of post-COVID-19 lawsuits, a former Assistant Director of Nursing filed a whistleblower complaint against her employer, a long-term care facility. The lawsuit claims termination for raising concerns about alleged health and safety issues relating to, inter alia, staffing levels and the use of effective personal protective…
New York Imposes New COVID-19 Standards on Dental Practices for Reopening
Following Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that dental practices across New York State may reopen to perform all dental care, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has issued minimum safety and social distancing standards in its “Interim Guidance for Dentistry During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.”
The Interim Guidance applies to all…