Effective June 13, 2022, Ohio Senate Bill 215, permits “qualifying adults” to legally carry, possess, and conceal a handgun without a license, background check, or training requirements. According to the new statute, codified at Ohio Revised Code § 2923.125A: Regardless of whether the person has been issued a concealed handgun license, … a person who is a qualifying adult may carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm anywhere in this state in which a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license may carry a concealed handgun. A “qualifying adult” must, among other criteria, be at …
The Latest on OSHA: Sixth Circuit Lifts Stay of OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard
As we have described previously in recent months, several precarious federal mandates have been issued by the administration of President Biden as the country works its way toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring that all employers with 100 or more employees either mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all employees or allow employees to elect weekly COVID-19 testing. In the most recent court challenge, this mandate, originally stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, has been reinstated by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Inevitably, the next stop will …
The State of Stays: Federal Vaccine Mandates Suspended for Now
As we have described previously in recent months, several precarious federal mandates have been issued by the administration of President Biden as the country works its way toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These federal mandates have imposed significant burdens on private industry by sapping much-needed corporate resources, creating a sense of overreach and invasiveness, and alienating vaccine-resistant employees at the exact moment many employers are trying desperately to rev back up and to revitalize the economy. The mandates have been implemented primarily by three executive-branch sources affecting three huge sectors of the economy: Executive Order 14042 affecting federal contractors, …
OSHA Issues Emergency Temporary Standard for Large Employers
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that their employees are either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or are tested on a weekly basis. This ETS compliments previous efforts by the federal government to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including Executive Orders requiring federal contractors and federal employees to be vaccinated, and regulations issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requiring vaccination for employees of health care facilities. Legal Challenges Legal challenges opposing the ETS have already been filed in various U.S. …
New COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate and Regulations Affecting Large Employers and Federal Contractors
President Joe Biden announced on September 9 that the federal government will require companies with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week. The new requirements will be issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in the coming weeks. It is expected that OSHA will give employers a limited time to get their employees vaccinated after the standard becomes effective or be subject to fines of up to $14,000 per violation. Employers will also be required to provide …
Coolidge Wall to Speak at the 2021 Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Talent 360 Forum
Coolidge Wall is pleased to be presenting at the annual Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Talent 360 Forum: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 Options for both in-person and virtual participation! In Person Location: Marriott University of Dayton 8:30 am to1:30 pm Coolidge’s Marc Fleischauer, chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department, will be talking to the area’s HR professionals and others about trending legal topics including: Ohio Discrimination Tort Reform for Employers Reduced Statute of Limitations Elimination of Supervisor Liability Mandatory Administrative Process Coordination with Federal Law What’s …
Ohio Passes Employment Law Uniformity Act Shortening Statutes of Limitation
On January 12, 2021, Governor DeWine signed HB 352 into law, which brings Ohio’s anti-discrimination statute in line with existing federal law. Among other things, the law does the following key things which benefit employers: Reduces the statute of limitations for most discrimination claims to two years instead of six; Requires claimants to exhaust their administrative remedies and undergo scrutiny in most cases from the Ohio Civil Rights Commission instead of simply proceeding with a lawsuit; Protects managers and supervisors from suit unless they retaliate for opposing a discriminatory practice, aid a discriminatory practice, or obstruct a person from complying …
House Bill 81 Brings Changes to Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law
Governor DeWine approved House Bill 81, which makes several significant changes to Ohio Workers’ Compensation law. The changes made by the legislation will go into effect on September 14, 2020. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with how these changes will affect your business. The new statutory language will be set forth in Ohio Revised Code §4123.56(F) and will state, “If an employee is not working or has suffered a wage loss as the direct result of reasons unrelated to the allowed injury or occupational disease, the employee is not eligible to receive compensation under this section.” Applying the …
Election Day and the Workplace: Issues for Ohio Employers
Robert Frost once advised, “Thinking isn’t to agree or disagree. That’s voting.” One question that HR professionals are thinking of every election season is, “Do we need to provide employees time to vote?” In Ohio, the answer is likely yes. Ohio Revised Code Section 3599.06 provides that no employer shall discharge or threaten to discharge an elector for taking “a reasonable amount of time to vote on election day.” Ohio employers are prohibited from interfering with, discriminating, or retaliating against an employee who seeks to vote or serve as an election official on Election Day. Does this require employees leaving …
Supreme Court Holds Mandated Public Sector Union Agency Fees Unconstitutional
On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court declared that fees charged to dissenting employees pursuant to a union agency shop arrangement violates the First Amendment. In a 5-4 vote in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, No. 16-1466, the court found in favor of Mark Janus, an Illinois public employee who refused to join the union yet had so-called agency or “fair share” fees taken from his paycheck every month, adding up to more than $500 each year. In finding for Janus, the Court overturned a 1977 decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. There, a group of Detroit …