Kerri Beatty

Governor Kathy Hochul lifted the indoor mask mandate in New York, which required businesses to ask for proof of full vaccination or require masks indoors at all times. This became effective February 10th and reflected the continued decline of the Omicron variant. The Governor left in place a mask requirement in schools until March when … Read more

On January 25, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced the withdrawal of its emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) that would have required private sector US employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees or require them to comply with weekly COVID-19 testing and face covering requirements. OSHA’s … Read more

As we previously reported, New York State passed the Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”) to prevent the spread of all airborne infectious diseases in the workplace and establish workplace safety committees. The law requires employers to implement industry-specific airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plans.  Since September 6, 2021, the Department of Health Commissioner … Read more

The United States Supreme Court has blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) from enforcing the emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) which required businesses with at least 100 employees to ensure workers are vaccinated against the coronavirus or wear masks and undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.  The parties will now go back to the lower courts to … Read more

On December 22, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) adopted the proposed regulations on the New York State Paid Sick Leave (“NYSPSL”) Law.  The regulations addressed the manner in which employees are to be counted for purposes of determining employer coverage under the NYSPSL Law, the extent to which employers can request … Read more