US Supreme Court Vaccination Decision Impacts on Workers’ Compensation
Two US Supreme Court decisions recently addressed the question of whether federal agencies had authority to require that individuals be vaccinated. In one decision the court addressed the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated. In the second decision the Court addressed the [...]
Texas Pays off Loan from Federal Unemployment Account
The Texas Workforce Commission announced today (November 9, 2021), that Governor Abbott signed SB 8 making supplemental appropriations including appropriating approximately $7.2 billion to be used to retire Title XII Advances and replenish the UI Trust Fund to the statutory floor. The bill is effective immediately. Texas was among the list of 10 states and the Virgin Islands that had [...]
New Federal Vaccine Emergency Rules Note that Individuals May be Entitled to Workers’ Compensation
On Friday, November 5, 2021 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID–19 by strongly encouraging vaccination. Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID–19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a [...]
Vaccination Requirement May Impact Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Compensation Determinations
On Thursday, November 4, 2021 the Biden-Harris Administration released a press release describing emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers. See Biden-Harris Administration Issues Emergency Regulation Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers | CMS The press release references emergency regulations issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that may be found at Federal Register [...]
Business Representatives Oppose Proposed Federal Monitoring of State Workers’ Compensation
Business representatives from 91 state and national business associations and employers submitted a letter on October 19, 2021 to the House and Senate in opposition to the inclusion of federal monitoring of state workers’ compensation. State workers’ compensation was created beginning more than 100 years ago in state constitutions and state statutes. State workers’ compensation is regulated by state insurance [...]
House Democrats Include Federal Monitoring of State Workers’ Compensation in Education and Labor Committee Vote for FY 2022 Budget Reconciliation
On September 10, 2021, the House Ed and Labor Committee voted to approve language proposed for inclusion in the FY 2022 budget reconciliation bill that would provide authority to the US Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) for “monitoring of State workers’ compensation programs”. See untitled (house.gov) page 115 lines 4-5 and amendments at untitled (house.gov)There is [...]