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This post was co-authored by Abby M. Warren and Emily A. Zaklukiewicz who are members of Robinson+Cole’s Labor and Employment Group.

Last month, President Biden issued an Executive Order which effectively imposes several COVID-19 safety standards and protocols, including mandatory vaccination, upon certain federal contractors and subcontractors. Specifically, the Executive Order directs federal agencies to incorporate a clause into all covered federal contracts which will require federal contractors or subcontractors to comply with guidance published by the White House’s Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Guidance), and which was released on September 24, 2021.  Under the Executive Order and Guidance, certain construction and other companies doing business with the federal government will soon be required to mandate vaccination for their workforces and ensure compliance with masking and social distancing requirements, among other requirements.
Continue Reading Mandatory Vaccination and Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors

This post was co-authored by Abby M. Warren,  Alisha N. Sullivan and Emily A. Zaklukiewicz who are members of Robinson+Cole’s Labor, Employment, Benefits + Immigration Groups.

Although millions of people in the United States have been vaccinated since COVID-19 vaccine distribution began in December 2020, a large percentage of the population still remains unvaccinated. Many lawmakers and companies are brainstorming ways to remove barriers to individuals obtaining the vaccine, especially frontline workers who remain at a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection. One such barrier is the time away from work that may be required to obtain the vaccination and the risk that the time will be unpaid. Many employers, including contractors, are questioning whether they must, or should, provide employees with paid time off for time spent related to obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine.
Continue Reading Are Employers Required to Pay For Employee Time Spent Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine?

This post was authored by Jonathan Schaefer, who is a member of Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group. Jon focuses his practice on environmental compliance counseling, occupational health and safety, permitting, site remediation, and litigation related to federal and state regulatory programs.

The results of a recently published study show that construction workers in Texas were more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to the general population. An equally problematic finding is that the increased hospitalization of construction workers resulted in greater community spread of COVID-19. This study and its findings are a much-needed reminder to stay vigilant and continue to monitor and enforce COVID-19 safety precautions and guidelines.
Continue Reading Study Findings Reinforce Need for Construction Industry to Stay Vigilant and Committed to COVID-19 Restrictions and Protecting Workers

This post was authored by Jonathan Schaefer, who is a member of Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group. Jon focuses his practice on environmental compliance counseling, occupational health and safety, permitting, site remediation, and litigation related to federal and state regulatory programs.
Continue Reading AIHA Releases COVID-19 Guidelines for Construction Industry

On July 24th, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 7JJJ, which creates a rebuttable presumption that all employees who worked on site and tested positive for COVID-19 during the first three months of the pandemic contracted the disease while on the job, giving employees a presumptive claim to workers’ compensation coverage. Connecticut follows suit with states such as Arkansas and California in taking executive order action to make it easier for pandemic workers to access workers’ compensation benefits.
Continue Reading Governor Lamont Issues Executive Order Allowing Pandemic Workers Easier Access to Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Robinson+Cole’s Construction Group hosted its fourth— but first ever virtual — Construction Industry Roundtable on July 14, 2020. Representatives of major design and construction industry organizations and stakeholders in the Northeast were in attendance to discuss the state of the regional market and to look ahead for trends to watch for 2021.
Continue Reading Robinson+Cole Hosts Fourth Construction Industry Roundtable

This post was co-authored with Jonathan Schaefer, who is a member of Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group. Jon focuses his practice on environmental compliance counseling, occupational health and safety, permitting, site remediation, and litigation related to federal and state regulatory programs.
Continue Reading OSHA’s COVID-19 Guidelines for the Construction Industry are Generally Consistent with New York State’s and New York City’s Existing Guidelines

On September 25, 2019, OSHA issued a final rule approving two additional quantitative fit testing protocols for inclusion in appendix A of the Respiratory Protection Standard. These protocols are:

  1. The modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter (CNC) quantitative fit testing protocol for full-facepiece and half-mask elastomeric respirators; and
  2. The modified ambient aerosol CNC quantitative fit testing protocol for filtering facepiece respirators.

Both protocols are variations of the original OSHA-approved ambient aerosol CNC protocol, but have fewer test exercises, shorter exercise duration, and a more streamlined sampling sequence. The new rule became effective September 26, 2019.
Continue Reading OSHA Approves New Respiratory Fit Testing Protocols