GINA

Arizona and Many Other States Begin Legislative Process to Protect Employees Against Discrimination Based on COVID-19 Vaccine Choices (US)

Currently pending before the Arizona legislature, Senate Bill 1648 would prohibit discrimination in the workplace (and elsewhere) against individuals who have not received or who refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As proposed, the bill would prohibit any employer from requiring a person to receive or disclose whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine as … Continue Reading

Considerations for Employers Contemplating Incentive Programs to Encourage Employees to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine (US)

As we discussed in a previous post, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published guidance in December 2020 on employer mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies. That guidance explained that subject to a few exceptions, employers can require that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of returning to, or remaining in the workplace. However, … Continue Reading

Employer’s Guide to Return-to-Work Issues: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (US)

By Daniel Pasternak and Laura Lawless on April 30, 2020 Posted in Accommodation, Americans with Disability Act, Annual Leave, Arizona, Benefits, California, Colorado, Compensation, Compliance, Contract of Employment, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Discrimination, Employee Health/Welfare, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, Employment Policies, Fair Labor Standards Act, FMLA, GINA, Grievance, Harassment, Health, Health & Safety, Health & Welfare, Health & Wellbeing, Hours, Illinois, Leave, Legislation, Monitoring, News, NLRB, Ohio, OSHA, Paid Sick Leave, Pay, Policies, Policies, Privacy, Regulation, Religious Discrimination, Restrictive Covenants, Sex Discrimination, Sick Leave, State Law Updates, Terms of Employment, Texas, Unions, Vacation, Wage and Hour, Wages, Wages, WARN Act, Wellbeing, Workplace Safety & Health

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency has changed life as we know it, including by severely disrupting business on a nationwide scale. In some cases, employers have been forced to temporarily close their doors and cease operations, while others have had to make radical changes to the workplace in order to maintain operations. … Continue Reading

Jury Penalizes Employer for Testing Employees’ DNA

By Squire Patton Boggs on June 26, 2015 Posted in Employment Policies, GINA, Recent Cases

In what appears to be the first jury verdict under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”), an Atlanta, Georgia area employer has been found liable for compensatory and punitive damages to two of its employees in a case whose facts read like a bad movie script. The employer operates a warehouse that distributes … Continue Reading

EEOC Proposes Amendments to ADA Regulations Relating To Employer Wellness Programs

By Elaine Brown on April 23, 2015 Posted in Disability Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Policies, GINA, Healthcare, Legislation, Wellbeing

The EEOC has proposed amendments to its regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) as they relate to employer wellness programs. These proposed amendments were published on Monday, April 20, triggering a 60-day public notice and comment period. The proposed amendments aim to define which employer wellness programs are valid under the ADA, which … Continue Reading

EEOC Begins Process to Regulate Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs

By Laura Lawless on March 24, 2015 Posted in Disability Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Policies, GINA, Healthcare, Legislation, Wellbeing

Many employers offer wellness programs to employees—such as providing rewards to employees for participating in health and wellness programs (e.g., weight loss, smoking cessation) and achieving particular results, or penalizing employees for declining to participate in such programs in the form of higher insurance premiums—as a way to encourage healthier, more productive workforces while reining … Continue Reading