By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced the Path Out of the Pandemic – a strategic plan to respond to the continued spread of COVID-19 (the “Plan”). In general, the Plan outlines a broad-brush approach to combating the continued ill-effects of the pandemic, including: Strategies to increase vaccination rates; Strategies ..read more

By Matthew L. Mitchell   On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) revised its COVID-19 mask guidance (the “Revised Guidance”), recommending that all individuals, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, resume wearing masks in “public indoor settings” in areas of the United States that exhibit “substantial” or “high” COVID-19 transmission rates. This announcement revises the CDC’s May 2021 mask guidance ..read more

    By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) directed at protecting frontline healthcare workers for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the Biden Administration’s directives, OSHA determined that its current standards and regulations, and OSHA’s General Duty Clause, were inadequate ..read more

    By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Leave Act (the “Act”) on May 28, 2021.  Under the COVID-19 Emergency Leave Act: Massachusetts employers are required to provide COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave benefits (up to $850) to employees who are unable to work for certain specified reasons ..read more

  By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published two guidelines intended to assist employers and employees transition to “post-COVID” work environments: The Technical Assistance provides instruction that applies the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) to employer policies that either mandate ..read more

  By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau On May 17, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Phased Economic Re-Opening Plan will terminate on May 29, 2021. The City of Boston, and most municipalities around the Commonwealth, have indicated their intent to align with the Governor’s announcement, and have taken steps to rescind the various municipal COVID-19 ..read more

  By: Joe Hunt, Matthew Mitchell, & Amanda Thibodeau On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). ARPA provides $1.9 trillion in stimulus, and establishes new, significant employee rights and employer obligations, to address the economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The key ARPA provisions that ..read more

By Matthew L. Mitchell   On March 22, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker implemented “Step 1 of Phase IV” of the Commonwealth’s phased economic re-opening plan –  authorizing several previously closed business sectors, such as performance venues and exhibition halls, to recommence limited operations. The transition to Step 1, Phase 4 is triggered by the recent ..read more

  By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new guidance to employers related to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination programs for employees (the “Guidance”).  In broad terms, the Guidance instructs that, subject to certain limits: Federal law does not prohibit mandatory employee COVID-19 vaccination programs; and Under certain circumstances, employers may ..read more

By Matthew L. Mitchell and Amanda Thibodeau   With a work environment pressurized by the COVID-19 crisis and a contentious election cycle, employers are finding themselves increasingly involved with unusual employee conflicts and complicated employment law compliance questions. This can be particularly disruptive during the closing months of the business year. The following summary discusses a variety of ..read more