As you’re likely aware, the United States Supreme Court issued two highly anticipated decisions on January 13, 2022 addressing (1) the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS); and (2) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’s Interim Final Rule requiring healthcare worker vaccinations (also known as the CMS Rule). While,Read More
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‘Tis The Season to Start Preparing for the ‘Vax or Test’ Deadlines
Season’s greetings! As we all begin the sprint into 2022, January 10th and February 9th are key dates on which to keep an eye on! The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 Vaccination Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS (also commonly referred to as the “vax or text” mandate)). The ETS has been mired inRead More
What You Need to Know About Recent Changes to Maine Employment Laws
Looking for something(s) to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Season? Look no further than this addition of Employment Wisdom on the Go (EWOTG), which will get you up-to-speed and up-to-date on several new employment laws recently passed by the Maine Legislature that could affect your business. Several of these changes to the law, which becameRead More
EEOC’s New COVID-19 Guidance – What You Need to Know
Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued some much-needed guidance for employers on COVID-19-related topics. The EEOC’s guidance comes in response to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s May 13th updated guidance for vaccinating individuals. The EEOC’s May 28th guidance adds to the ever-expanding listRead More
May 31 Deadline for New Cobra Notices is Fast Approaching
Many employers are aware that the American Rescue Plan Act (the “ARPA”) includes a 100% temporary COBRA subsidy for eligible individuals who lost health care coverage due to an “involuntary termination of employment” or a “reduction in hours.” The ARPA COBRA subsidy was enacted to cover certain eligible employees (often termed “Assistance Eligible Individuals”) fromRead More
Significant Changes in Trademark Law That Could Affect Your Business
New Rules and Procedures Intended to Aid Trademark Owners In today’s business world dominated by a proliferation of internet companies, acquiring rights to valuable trademarks and protecting them against infringement has been a daunting, often complicated and frequently expensive undertaking. This has been particularly true for trademark owners initiating and maintaining a civil trademark infringementRead More
Incentivizing Vaccines and Other Thorny Issues in 2021
The 2021 legal landscape for employers and human resources professionals continues to be a “wait-and-see” game as we enter the third month of 2021. It’s now been almost a year since COVID-19 shut down many workplaces and generally disrupted everything about life as we all knew it, and the after-shocks continue to ripple. With statesRead More
Damages in Federal Trademark Infringement Lawsuits
My clients always express concern, and rightly so, with the potential costs and expenses to bring and maintain a trademark infringement claim in federal court, and if successful, what the client might recover as damages. Within this context, it is imperative that the client fully understand from the outset what types of damages are potentiallyRead More
Is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Really Expiring? What Does This Mean for You?
As we all eagerly anticipate the end of 2020, the end of the year also means the expiration of the mandated leaves under the FFCRA on December 31, 2020. Indeed, as of the evening of December 21, 2020, Congress has voted to hold firm on the FFCRA expiration time table, and President Trump has signedRead More
Amy Dieterich Quoted Regarding Portland’s Newly-passed Hazard Pay Ordinace
Skelton, Taintor and Abbott shareholder Amy Dieterich is quoted in the Portland Press Herald regarding Portland’s newly-passed hazard pay ordinance. She counseled employees and employers that there is serious litigation risk if they do not start paying certain employees time and a half for working during a declared emergency in December. Employment lawyers at Skelton,Read More