A recent District of Columbia (D.C.) law offers employees of private employers in D.C. paid time off for COVID-19 vaccination-related leave, and provides unpaid COVID-19-related leave to eligible employees of employers with 20 or more employees in D.C. The COVID Vaccination Leave Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (the Act) amends two existing leave laws: the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (ASSLA) and the D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA). Although the Act is currently in effect only until February 18, 2021, the D.C. Council will likely extend it.

On December 7, 2021, Judge R. Stan Baker, a federal judge for U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, issued a nationwide injunction to block the enforcement of a vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors issued in response to President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors.”

All U.S.-bound international air travelers must obtain a negative one-day COVID-19 test result, regardless of citizenship and vaccination status, prior to embarkation

In response to the COVID-19 “Omicron” variant outbreak unfolding in several southern African regions, President Biden has issued a Proclamation that, effective November 29, 2021, suspends entry into the U.S. for certain nonimmigrants who were physically present in Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe during the fourteen (14) day period preceding their entry or attempted entry.

DHS to implement 1st phase of land border vaccination requirement on November 8, 2021

In a Proclamation effective November 8, 2021 at 12:01am, President Biden revoked U.S. bans against nonimmigrant travelers from several countries and created a new global vaccination requirement for all U.S. nonimmigrants arrivals by air. A synopsis of the Proclamation and related travel requirements follows:

As discussed in an earlier post, adopting a mandatory vaccination policy for employees is not a simple decision. Among the many factors to consider is the potential risk of legal action arising under federal laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) or the National Labor Relations Act, as well as state-law challenges alleging public policy violations or wrongful termination of employment. Recently, some employers have decided to require COVID vaccines for employees, citing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Updated Guidance in support of this policy.  Many other employers are still considering how to proceed. Despite the EEOC’s position that an employer may enact a mandatory vaccination policy for all of its employees physically entering the workplace, mandatory vaccine policies are not without risk of unintended, negative consequences for the organization.