COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new final rule on the Form I-9 process. Under the new rule, the DHS Secretary may authorize alternative Form I-9 documentation examination procedures that do not require an employer to physically examine an employee’s documents in person. These alternative procedures can be authorized as part

The federal government says healthcare employers can soon stop requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Yes — the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is sunsetting the requirement that covered providers have staff COVID-19 vaccination policies. Published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2023, CMS’s

If you take on a federal contract, does that make you a state actor? No, according to a unanimous Sixth Circuit panel in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker Company.

The Facts

During World War II, the Army included Smucker’s apple butter in its ration kits, resulting in a federal contractor relationship that has “stuck” ever

This year brought substantial progress in the way of slightly fewer positive COVID-19 cases and/or transmissions and increased vaccinations. Consequently, in the employment world many of you reopened your offices and invited employees, some thrilled and others reluctant, to return to in-person work. Though the return has restored some sense of normalcy, there are still

Mississippi recently passed House Bill 1509 (the “act”) codifying employees’ right to choose whether to be vaccinated against COVID-19, which some commentators believe would limit employers’ ability to impose mandatory vaccine requirements. But private employers with vaccine mandates can breathe easy. The act does not create a basis for a wrongful termination claim against a

Questions about COVID-19 vaccines are hard, particularly if you contract or want to contract with the federal government. The scenario is familiar: You run a business that has or seeks to contract with the federal government. You read about the Biden administration’s Executive Order mandating that your employees be fully vaccinated for you to qualify