Ruling in lawsuit upholds mask-wearing in workplace
CREATAS CREATAS
Published: 12/16/2020 7:26:50 PM
SPRINGFIELD On Wednesday, local health care workers at Baystate Medical Center became the first in the region to receive a coronavirus vaccine.
The hospital is not mandating that its employees receive the vaccine, for which the federal government only recently granted emergency approval. However, as the pandemic continues to rage across the country, a 2016 lawsuit brought against Baystate points to the ability employers have to require employees to either get vaccinated or wear a mask if they have a religious or health-related exemption for not getting vaccinated. A judge dismissed the lawsuit this summer.
Contains Q&A Section on Vaccinations
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The publication, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” now includes a new section providing information to employers and employees about how a COVID-19 vaccination interacts with the legal requirements of the the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). This includes issues pertaining to medical pre-screening questions and employer accommodations for those unable to receive a vaccination.
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Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addressed age discrimination issues related to COVID-19. Based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) explanation that individuals 65 years of age and older are at a higher risk for having a severe case of COVID-19 if they contract the virus, the EEOC encouraged employers to offer maximum flexibility to individuals in this age group. This flexibility was intended to offer older employees a way to continue to work even if they did not feel safe in the workplace.
Leading National Food Distributor Systematically Refused to Hire Women, Federal Agency Charged
BALTIMORE – Performance Food Group, Inc. (PFG), a national marketer and distributor of national and proprietary-branded food and food-related products, will pay $5,075,000 in monetary relief and furnish significant equitable relief to settle a federal nationwide sex discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.
According to the EEOC s lawsuit, since at least 2004, PFG has engaged in an ongoing pattern or practice of failing to hire a class of female applicants for operative positions at its Broadline facilities. The EEOC also charged that PFG failed to promote a qualified female employee into the position of nighttime warehouse training supervisor at its Carroll County Foods facility in Maryland based on her sex.
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In follow-up to our previous blog regarding mandating the COVID-19 vaccine in the workplace, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has now issued guidance addressing that very issue. According to the guidance, employers may ask employees if they have had the COVID-19 vaccine and require the vaccine pursuant to U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or other federal or state guidelines. However, any mandates must allow exemptions for employees who are unable to receive the vaccine due to disability or a sincerely held religious belief or practice.