Long-term care providers and other businesses and entities in Wisconsin now have broad, but not unlimited, immunity from liability related to COVID-19 exposure, under a bill signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on February 25. The immunity provision is included in a bill addressing the State’s unemployment insurance program, which received final legislative approval on February 23.[1] The new...
In the next few months, as a COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available, many employers will be faced with a decision of whether to mandate vaccination for their employees. This consideration will raise a multitude of questions, including: (1) Can employers require mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations?, (2) What are the consequences of an employee’s refusal to be vaccinated?, (3) If more than one...
By: Anne V. O'Meara, Laurie E. Meyer, and Anthony J. Steffek On September 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its second interpretation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new DOL rule, which took effect on September 16, revised the original rule’s definition of “health care provider” to provide up to twelve weeks of paid leave to an expanded field of...
By: Abby S. Busler The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) has issued 60 pages of detailed guidance to reopen businesses, health care facilities and providers, schools, transit, and other industries. This guidance also provides information regarding testing and data to assist with exposure and risk concerns for those industries. The following is an overview of the topics addressed in the newly...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued recommendations on May 18 to state and local officials across the country for when nursing homes can relax certain restrictions on visitation, screening, and services related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations envision moving in three phases. Nursing homes would “reopen” more slowly than their surrounding communities will under...
By: Alec Dobson The state will begin publishing a list of nursing homes in Wisconsin with current confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Wisconsin Health Care Association reported Thursday. The disclosures will begin Monday, May 11, on the Department of Health Services’ website. Also: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday that it will issue a final rule May 8 requiring...
By: Bruce B. Deadman Some media outlets, commentators and business organizations have expressed concern that as they return employees to work, employers may have potential liability on a variety of fronts. This came true for employers who have “first responders” in an important provision of the coronavirus relief package signed into law by Governor Evers on April 15. To collect workers’...
By: Alec Dobson Health care providers in Wisconsin now have immunity from civil liability, subject to certain exceptions, for death, injury or other damages caused by their services during the coronavirus emergency. The immunity provision is part of the wide-ranging coronavirus relief law which received final approval in the Legislature on April 15 and was signed into law by Governor Tony Evers...
By: Alec Dobson The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has established two temporary, emergency programs with relaxed training requirements to help nursing homes increase nurse aide staffing to help meet the increased demands posed by COVID-19. The DHS announcement on April 9 implements Governor Tony Evers’ Emergency Order No. 21, which was issued April 3. The 120-hour nurse aide training...
By: Alec Dobson The $2 trillion CARES Act, passed by the House on Friday and promptly signed into law by President Trump, provides $200 million for nursing homes for infection control and $100 billion for grants to a broad range of health care providers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will receive $200 million to help nursing homes with infection control and support states’...
