Coronavirus: Resources and Rapid Response Task Force

President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety, issued shortly after his inauguration on January 21, 2021, directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a variety of new guidelines to employers for addressing worker health and safety under COVID-19 pandemic conditions.

Read the full alert here.

The New York State Department of Labor recently released additional guidance interpreting NY COVID-19 leave, which “supplement[s] prior guidance,” but makes clear that “all prior guidance remains in effect.” The guidance is dated January 20, 2021, but has no effective date. Presumably, the state expects employers to follow the guidance from January 20, 2021 and after. (Health care employers must follow additional guidance from the New York Department of Health (DOH), which we cover further.)

Read the full alert here.

On January 8, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Allen v. Northeast Treatment Centers, Inc., C.A. No. 2:20-cv-05519-MAK, ruled that three plaintiffs—all nurses formerly employed by the defendant—could proceed with a lawsuit alleging that they were wrongfully terminated for complaining that the company violated state and local COVID-19 orders. The plaintiffs alleged that their termination violated Pennsylvania’s clear mandates of public policy. This lawsuit is one of the first, if not the first, to address the applicability of Pennsylvania’s common law wrongful discharge in violation of public policy tort to COVID-19-related employee complaints.

Read the full alert here.

Join Goldberg Segalla’s Kelly C. O’Connor for an interactive webinar navigating the mitigation of New York State workers’ compensation claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly will discuss the Board’s current position on labor market attachment, mandatory medical reporting every 90 days, permanency, and review the caselaw surrounding these issues.

Learn more and register.

Join Goldberg Segalla’s Joanne J. Romero and Jeremy S. Cole for an interactive webinar exploring the potential benefits and pitfalls of requiring employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of returning to the workplace. Joanne and Jeremy will discuss the EEOC’s guidance on this issue, and the interplay between mandating the COVID-19 vaccine and requirements under federal anti-discrimination laws.

Learn more and register.

Attorneys and professionals across our 22-office, 11-state domestic footprint spend each day advising clients in a variety of industries on evolving legal and regulatory matters related to the coronavirus pandemic. These attorneys—comprising our national Coronavirus Rapid Response Task Force—collaboratively advise clients on the most critical questions that face them today, from employment and labor matters to fast-evolving regulatory concerns and unanticipated liability claims and business litigation.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Our Coronavirus Employment and Labor Rapid Response Team exists to handle all of the most pressing issues facing employers in the unprecedented business environment created by the coronavirus pandemic. Led by senior attorneys from our Employment and Labor practice, this group provides daily counsel to a diverse client community on issues including workplace safety, changes to employment policies, interpretation of new state and federal laws and guidance, labor issues, layoffs and staff reductions, the defense of employment-related claims, and strategic communications to internal and external stakeholders.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services practice—home to one of the largest collection of senior insurance coverage attorneys in the nation—serves multiple leading insurers on national and regional coronavirus coverage panels. Our dedicated Coronavirus Coverage Team includes many senior coverage partners across our national footprint, allowing us to coordinate and ensure consistency in our approach to coronavirus claims, while avoiding taking any position in one claim or in one jurisdiction that could disadvantage a client in another.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla has been on the forefront of the evolving coronavirus global health crisis, advising our clients through alerts and presentations as well as the broader legal, insurance, and business communities through publications in major outlets.

Click here for our latest news, analysis, and educational materials.