Policy Matters

In this episode, Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento, CA office, and Honore Hishamunda, Senior Associate in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Atlanta office, discuss the current debate surrounding the construction of liability shields to designed protect employers against claims by employees that COVID-19 was contracted at the workplace.

Honore and Scott explore the liability shields that were constructed and implemented closer to the beginning of the pandemic, shields that are either set to expire or have expired (which in itself is indicative of how long we have been stuck in this pandemic). Honore and Scott discuss the likelihood of extensions, what those changes might look like, and how the current panoply of liability shields across the nation compare to those constructed a century ago during the Spanish Flu pandemic.

In this episode, Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor and Employment Department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento office, and Chuck Guzak, Associate in the Labor and Employment Department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, discuss the recent memorandum released by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo regarding her position that certain college athletes are employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

With the recent changes in NCAA rules and state laws on athletes’ ability to profit off of their names, images, and likenesses as a backdrop, the Policy Matters podcast team discusses the legal history of colleges and universities under the National Labor Relations Act, the Supreme Court’s recent case striking down NCAA restrictions on educational benefits, and what GC Abruzzo’s recent memorandum could mean for the future of college sports.

In this podcast, Seyfarth partner Leon Rodriguez discusses the potential humanitarian immigration options for Afghans fleeing or seeking to flee their country in the aftermath of the US drawdown. Leon discusses Special Immigrant Visa status, refugee options and humanitarian paroles, while also providing guidance for employers who either wish to sponsor or otherwise support Afghan refugees in various categories.

In this episode, Scott Hecker, Senior Counsel in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, and Ashley Cano, Partner in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Chicago office, discuss labor law issues surrounding vaccine mandates.

Ashley and Scott continue the Podcast’s exploration of potential ramifications from a fully-approved COVID-19 vaccine, and they identify what union (and non-union) employers should keep in mind when considering vaccine mandates. While Ashley and Scott speak to the varied responses unions have had to vaccination requirements, they note one fairly consistent Labor priority: maintaining collective bargaining power.

In this episode, Scott Hecker, Senior Counsel in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, and Adam Young, Partner in the Labor & Employment department of Seyfarth’s Chicago office, discuss workplace safety issues surrounding vaccine mandates.

Adam and Scott explore the potential impacts of a fully-approved COVID-19 vaccine, and how employers, including the federal government, are approaching vaccine requirements. Beyond vaccines, Adam and Scott lay out additional risk mitigation protocols employers can consider to limit OSHA enforcement risks, including in the healthcare sector (which is subject to OSHA’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard) and under OSHA’s COVID-19 national emphasis program.

In this episode, Scott Hecker, Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, and Karla Grossenbacher, Partner and chair of the Washington, DC, office’s Labor and Employment practice, head of the firm’s Workplace Privacy team, and co-chair of the firm’s Workplace Biometric Privacy Compliance and Litigation group, discuss employment law issues surrounding vaccine mandates.

When it comes to mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, the federal government and its state counterparts have continued the patchwork response we’ve become familiar with throughout the pandemic. Karla and Scott address how these choppy vaccine waters impact employers, and what employers should consider in developing their COVID-19 vaccination programs.

In this episode, Scott Hecker, Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, and Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento office, discuss the U.S. DOL nominations of Doug Parker to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health and David Weil to return to his prior position as Wage and Hour Division Administrator, as well has how the confirmations of both Julie Su and Seema Nanda could increase the velocity of change at the DOL.

With increased enforcement at the forefront of the Department of Labor’s agenda, Mr. Parker and Dr. Weil could serve outsized roles in executing the Administration’s policies and priorities. The Policy Matters podcast team lays out what we know about Doug Parker and David Weil, and considers what their nominations mean for the Department and the regulated community.

In this two-part episode, Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento office, Jennifer Mora, Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s San Francisco office, and Stanley Jutkowitz, Senior Counsel in the Corporate and Real Estate Departments of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, discuss the various bills pending before Congress that would impact the legalization of both adult use and medical cannabis, as well as a discussion of how legalization of cannabis across certain states has affected employers.

In part one, Scott and Jennifer discuss marijuana legislation at the state level, and how that affects employers, with a particular focus on testing and reasonable accommodations.

In part two, Scott and Stanley discuss federal legislation related to cannabis, what said legislation would do, and the chance of said legislation passing.

In this two-part episode, Scott Mallery, Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s Sacramento office, Jennifer Mora, Senior Counsel in the Labor and Employment department of Seyfarth’s San Francisco office, and Stanley Jutkowitz, Senior Counsel in the Corporate and Real Estate Departments of Seyfarth’s Washington, DC office, discuss the various bills pending before Congress that would impact the legalization of both adult use and medical cannabis, as well as a discussion of how legalization of cannabis across certain states has affected employers.

In part one, Scott and Jennifer discuss marijuana legislation at the state level, and how that affects employers, with a particular focus on testing and reasonable accommodations.

In part two, Scott and Stanley discuss federal legislation related to cannabis, what said legislation would do, and the chance of said legislation passing.

The Biden administration’s infrastructure plan includes a significant amount of money ($100 billion) for incentives for customers to purchase EVs, along with $15 billion specifically allocated to the installation of a half a million chargers across the country. The latter is a particularly important component of the Biden administration’s EV push because consumer surveys consistently show that charging anxiety is one biggest hurdles to expanding mass appeal for EVs. While $15 billion for 500,000 chargers sounds like a lot, it alone won’t be enough to provide accessible charging to all 19,500 cities, towns, and villages and more than 4 million miles in the US highway network. The transition to EVs will necessarily require investments by states, municipalities, and private companies, all against the backdrop of America’s still-sharp climate change political divide.

In this podcast episode, Alison Eggers, a Litigation Partner in Seyfarth’s Boston office, and Scott Mallery, Counsel in the firm’s Sacramento office and frequent Podcast host, discuss the EV components of President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, where public meets private, and what’s next for the legislation.