On August 2, 2022, the New York State Department of Health issued revised guidance regarding daily health screenings and related policies for home care staff.
New York launched its Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program aimed at rewarding and retaining frontline healthcare and mental hygiene workers. The first deadline for employers’ submissions comes up on September 2, 2022.
A new law authorizes bonus payments to Minnesotans who worked in frontline sectors during the COVID-19 emergency - and requires covered employers to provide notice to workers by June 23, 2022.
On April 14, 2022, New York City lawmakers introduced a bill that, if enacted, would amend the Fair Workweek law to cover home health care services employers and would likely upend the way home health care services are provided in New York City.
The NY Department of Health has issued a press release stating that the booster requirement that was to apply to all healthcare workers eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster shot will not be enforced on February 21, 2022 as originally announced.
Governor Murphy has signed an order requiring that healthcare workers and those at high-risk congregate settings be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including receipt of a booster shot, or have their employment terminated.
On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, lifted lower court injunctions that had blocked enforcement in 25 states of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Interim Final Rule requiring healthcare worker vaccinations.
There have been significant developments in the legal challenges brought against the interim final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which requires vaccination of all healthcare workers at CMS-covered facilities throughout the U.S.
On November 29 and 30, 2021, two separate federal district courts issued injunctions blocking enforcement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services interim final rule requiring healthcare worker vaccinations.
The 2nd Circuit has upheld NY’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, rejecting arguments advanced by healthcare professionals that the mandate’s failure to provide for religious exemptions violated their religious freedoms and should be enjoined.
