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Information Businesses Need Today to Prepare for a Continually Changing Tomorrow
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is imparting an unprecedented burden on businesses, municipalities, schools and individuals around the globe. Many retailers are operating in a limited capacity, supply chains are extensively disrupted and impeding manufacturers, and commercial tenants and landlords are at risk due to potential revenue shortfalls. The impact changes daily. While there are many questions arising that are industry-specific, there are also a variety of foundational matters for all entities to review, consider and employ.
Davis|Kuelthau has organized a multidisciplinary team to monitor and address the vast range of litigation, regulatory and transactional challenges faced by companies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. We are regularly issuing guidance and have assembled a summary of some of the many local, state and federal resources available to help businesses with their pandemic preparedness and response efforts. Our team will continue to develop, update and share guidance directly as well as via this resource site. Please consider the fluid nature of the situation and that all information shared is thus current as of the date that it was posted. It is important to also consult federal, state, county and city health agency websites regularly.
As always, we are here for you.
Be safe and be well.
ALL D|K COVID-19 GUIDANCE
Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association will honor Kathy L. Nusslock with the Nathan A. Fishbach Founder’s Award
On May 26 the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association will honor Kathy L. Nusslock (Litigation, Milwaukee) with the Nathan A. Fishbach Founder's Award at the 20th Annual Meeting which will take place at the Pfister Hotel from 8:30 AM - 1:15 PM. Attendees can expect great programming, exceptional award presentations, networking opportunities, and 3.0 CLE credits. For more information or to...
135 Wisconsin Municipalities Potentially Affected by PCB Class Action Settlement. Payouts May Not Align with Actual Damages.
A Central District of California Judge has preliminarily approved a class action settlement in City of Long Beach, et al. v. Monsanto Company, et al., that will resolve claims by various municipalities against Monsanto Company, Solutia, Inc. and Pharmacia for environmental damages related to PCBs. The underlying basis for the claims are allegations that PCBs are present at sites and public...
2022 WASB/WSAA School Law Conference & Workshop
School and Education Attorneys, James Kalny and Abby (Busler) Tilkens will be presenting at the 2022 WASB/WSAA School Law Conference & Workshop on Thursday, January 20, 2022 from 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM. Click here to view the powerpoint presentation. Their presentation, Free Speech from the Tinker Era Through 2021 and Beyond will explore the changing territory of free speech. After providing a...
Supreme Court Nixes OSHA Vax, Upholds Health Worker Mandate
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court blocked the OSHA ETS rule, which mandated private employers with at least 100 employees require their employees to be fully vaccinated or submit to a weekly COVID test and wear face masks. Six of the Court’s nine justices held that the ETS constituted an attempt by OSHA to regulate general matters of public health, as opposed to occupational...
U.S. Supreme Court Allows Nursing Home Vaccination Mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care providers to proceed. The rule requires nursing homes, hospitals, and certain other participants in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to vaccinate all non-exempt staff[1] against COVID-19. In a separate ruling, the Court blocked the enforcement of a broader rule from the U.S....
CMS Plans Enforcement, Sets New Deadlines for COVID Vaccination Mandate
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday announced new dates for nursing homes in Wisconsin and 24 other states to comply with the mandate to vaccinate all non-exempt staff against COVID-19. It also announced plans for survey enforcement. Within 30 days of Tuesday’s directive,[1] these nursing homes must have developed policies and procedures and 100% of non-exempt...
OSHA’s Vax or Test Mandate for Employers with 100+ Employees Is Back in Effect. What’s Next for Employers?
Late on Friday, December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, vacated the Fifth Circuit’s stay on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). The ETS mandates private employers with at least 100 employees to be fully vaccinated or submit to a weekly COVID test and wear face masks. Given this swift reversal, OSHA updated its compliance dates to provide employers...
Vaccination Mandate for Nursing Homes is Revived, for Now, in Wisconsin
After being blocked this month by a federal judge in Louisiana, the COVID vaccination mandate for nursing home staff has been reinstated in Wisconsin and 25 other states, at least for now. The background: In November the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services required nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid to have staff fully vaccinated by January 4 (except for staff with...
Managing Potential Employee Non-Compliance with COVID-19 Requirements
Even before the Biden Administration promulgated its now-in-legal-limbo vaccination/testing mandates, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought health-related, and religious-related, matters to the forefront of the employer-employee relationship, perhaps like never seen before. As a result, employers often have been forced to have difficult conversations with employees over topics like mandatory...
Ruling Puts Vaccination Mandate for Nursing Homes on Hold
The federal requirement that nursing homes vaccinate staff against COVID-19 is on hold temporarily after a judge’s ruling this week in Louisiana. The ruling, coming amid concerns over the omicron variant of the coronavirus, could ease pressure on nursing homes facing staffing shortages but for now leaves vaccination rules in an uncertain status. In November, the Centers for Medicare &...
- CDC COVID-19 risk assessment by country
- U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories
- 17 responsible live visualizations about the coronavirus
- Number of people currently confirmed to have COVID-19, in the US
- John Hopkins Dashboard Map
International Agency Guidance:
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- McKinsey and Company prepared a report on “COVID-19: Implications for business.”
Federal Agency Guidance:
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Memo Identifying Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (EPA)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour (DOL)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Coronavirus Resources (DOL)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- U.S. Department of State (State Department)
- Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (OSHA)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention central hub for information gov.
- National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)
- Public Health Emergency COVID-19: 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- Teleworking has never been more important (U.S. Office of Personnel Management)
- Combating the Coronavirus (S. Chamber of Commerce)
- Coronavirus: What You Need to Know (National Governors Association)
Workplace Guidance for Employees and Employers:
- Federal Employee Rights
- Employee Rights
- Better Business Bureau tips on COVID-19
- Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers from the CDC Plan, Prepare and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019
- CDC Guidelines for keeping workplaces, homes, schools, or commercial establishments safe.
- CDC Coronavirus Disease 2019 Additional guidelines for employers.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued guidelines for employers on preparing for challenges that may arise because of the coronavirus outbreak.
- Workplace Tips and resources for employers to combat the virus.
- View the U.S. Chamber’s Corporate Aid Tracker for details on how businesses are helping nationwide.
- American Chamber of Commerce in China results from Corvid 19 Business Impact survey
- U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Resilience in a Box created in partnership with the UPS Foundation.
- Husch Blackwell posted a blog: Coronavirus at work: Yes, one business meeting can make a difference.
- COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel (U.S. Department of Education)
State Agency Guidance:
- Governor Tony Evers Wisconsin COVID-19 Coronavirus Information
- State of Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services
- Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation COVID-19 Business Resources
- Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
- COVID-19 Member Guide Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce
Hospitality Industry Guidance:
- Food Industry Preparedness (Food Industry Association)
- Coronavirus Preparedness Checklist for Events (WHO)