Insights

Dear Client, The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down the Biden Administration’s OSHA-based vaccine mandate for employers of 100 or more employees.  The majority ruled that OSHA had exceeded its authority when it issued the vaccine mandate, concluding that OSHA has authority only “to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures.”  This decision from the Supreme Court [...]

UPDATE - 12/21/2021 Just over a week ago we sent you an update regarding the Washington Long-Term Care Tax, also called the Washington Cares Fund (the “Fund”), which was set to go into effect on January 1st. The Fund is a program that provides long-term care benefits to eligible employees from a trust fund into which employees pay. Well, [...]

In yesterday’s Vaccine Mandate Litigation update, I noted that another hearing filed in a federal court in Louisiana was scheduled for December 3rd.  It appears that, rather than waiting for that hearing to take place, the court decided to enter its order ahead of time, ruling that the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (the “CMS”) federal [...]

Dear Client: On Monday, November 29th, a federal district court in Missouri granted an injunction against the Biden Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (the “CMS”) federal vaccine mandate, which was to apply only to Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities (i.e., all facilities over which the CMS has regulatory authority and are therefore subject to the CMS’s health and [...]

Dear Client, There appears to be just a slight amount of confusion about exactly what medical facilities are covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”).  In short, it applies only to Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities, i.e., all facilities over which the CMS has regulatory authority and are therefore subject to the CMS’s health and safety regulations.  [...]

Dear Client: We just wanted to update you on the most recent developments in the COVID-19 vaccination world.  First up, you should know that OSHA has suspended enforcement of its recently announced vaccine mandate, which would have applied to employers with at least 100 employees.  OSHA has suspended the mandate because OSHA was sued by several states, and the [...]

Dear Client, As you likely have heard, last week OSHA implemented its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (the “ETS”) regarding vaccine mandates for the workplace).  It would have required employers with at least 100 employees to either require their employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing (at the employee’s expense) beginning on January 4, 2022. Well, as we’ve also [...]

Dear RMI Client, As you’re likely aware by now, the new Washington Long-Term Care Tax mandates a tax on employee’s wages ($0.58 on every $100 of wages ) to pay for long-term care benefits for Washington residents.  The tax and premium collections will start January 1, 2022. What Is The Washington Long-Term Care Program? The Washington Long-Term Care Program [...]