GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

On July 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance regarding COVID-19 testing in the workplace. Below is a summary of those changes.

The “official” state of emergency in Oregon has ended and employees are returning to the office. However, the pandemic is not over. With that in mind, some employees may not be prepared to return to the office; perhaps they are at high-risk for COVID-19, or maybe they are afraid to return to the office due to concerns of contracting COVID. Because of this, employers may see an increase in COVID-19-related reasonable accommodation requests, specifically requesting remote/telework.

As we alerted earlier this month, no later than March 31, Oregon will lift its mask mandate for indoor public places. You may recall June of 2021 when it was announced that all COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted, only to have them re-imposed again at the end of July. All of this may have you wondering what will happen this time. You’ve been through this before, right?! Here are few things to keep in mind once restrictions are lifted.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its COVID-19 technical assistance to include more information about employer retaliation in pandemic-related employment situations. The updates explain and clarify the rights of employees and job applicants who believe they suffered retaliation for protected activities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, or other employment discrimination laws. 

Recently, a federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction preventing the enforcement of the Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate.

On September 9th, President Biden announced an Executive Order requiring all eligible contractors and subcontractors to mandate COVID-19 vaccines without the option for weekly testing, except for religious and medical exemptions. On September 24th, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued guidance regarding this mandate.

On October 18, the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and K-12 school staff will take effect. Find out what this means for healthcare providers and healthcare staff and K-12 school staff.

As the vaccine mandates continue to grow for organizations, let's look at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s guidelines regarding religious discrimination in the workplace. 

With restrictions easing and more employees returning to the workplace, we know you have questions about both the legal and practical issues around the impact of COVID-19 vaccines and the new mask requirements. We hope you can join us for this one-hour live conversation on May 26th to participate and ask questions as you make critical decisions for your organization. 

OSHA recently released guidance related to when employers are required to record adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.