COVID-19 Vaccines and the Workforce – Mandatory or Encouraged?

Getting back to normal in the next year or so may be impossible without the widespread use of COVID-19 vaccines. Although authorities do not anticipate the vaccines will be widely available until Spring 2021, employers should be considering whether to mandate or merely encourage vaccinations in the workforce.

Currently there is no definitive answer regarding mandatory vaccinations, and your plan will depend on many variables. Because this is the first pandemic in our memory and it is all new to us, consider forming a committee to monitor the status of laws, regulations, and guidance from various agencies.

Your business may be one of the lucky ones that navigated the pandemic without causing a loss of morale or culture, operating safely by working remotely, social distancing, wearing masks, and following CDC requirements. If so, setting aside all other factors, you may simply want to encourage vaccinations for the first few months that they are available, especially given potential concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and the ever-changing laws. You could do this by training and educating employees as to the efficacy of the vaccine, encouraging participation, and offering the vaccine for free (if not covered by insurance) at the workplace during work hours. Continue reading »

OSHA Finalizes Rules Requiring Health Care Employers to Report Injuries

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented rules on January 1, 2015 which place additional requirements on employers under OSHA jurisdiction (and with greater than 10 employees) to report occupational injuries and illnesses. This new data is going to be made public, which would allow individuals, companies, or labor unions to view injury reports submitted by health care providers.

Currently, employers in Missouri are required to report work injuries to the state if an employee sustains an injury at work requiring medical treatment beyond immediate first aid. The information is not made public, but is rather provided only to the state as a reporting requirement. In fact, workers’ compensation trials or hearing are not generally open to the public. Express consent is usually required of the parties or their attorneys for a member of the general public to watch these court proceedings.

Under the current OSHA regulations, fatalities must be reported within eight hours. The regulations add additional requirements and require all employers to report work-related in-patient hospitalizations, as well as amputations or incidents where someone loses an eye, within 24 hours. Continue reading »

Is This by Consent? Changes to Missouri Supreme Court Rule Affect Use of Non-party Subpoenas

Part of a series on issues related to Manufacturers, Distributors and International Trade

A major change involving subpoenas to non-parties has hit the business world in the state of Missouri.

A new amendment to the Missouri Supreme Court Rules now requires non-party record custodians to physically appear at deposition to produce subpoenaed items, unless all parties to the litigation have agreed that the subpoenaed party may produce the items without appearing.

The amendment changes the prevailing practice where parties send out subpoenas to third parties with a letter explaining that they will be excused from appearing at deposition if they produce the requested items along with what is known as a business records affidavit.

Rule 57.09, as amended, now requires parties to first obtain consent from all other parties to the litigation before a subpoenaed witness may produce documents without attending the deposition. This agreement must be communicated to the witness in writing. Absent this agreement, a witness must appear to produce subpoenaed items at deposition.

What does this mean to you? If you receive a subpoena, you may only produce the documents to the party serving the subpoena without appearing at deposition if that party represents to you in writing (e.g., in a letter) that all other parties have consented to production of the docume

nts without need for you to appear at the deposition. Such a letter should protect you from allegations that you improperly produced records by mail, instead of bringing the documents to the deposition. You do not need to see the actual agreement. If you have any questions as to whether you can simply mail the documents, instead of appearing at deposition, you should either call your attorney for advice or simply wait and bring the documents at the time and place designated in the subpoena.

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ERISA, FEHBA, Medicare (CMS) and Personal Injury claims

Whether you are a plaintiff or defendant with regard to a personal injury claim, it is important to determine whether there are any issues with respect to ERISA, FEHBA and Medicare.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)is federal law which establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry and includes extensive rules with regard to federal income tax effects of transactions associated with employee benefit plans. Congress established this law with the intent to protect the interests of participants in employee benefits plans and their beneficiaries by requiring financial disclosure to them, establishing fiduciary duties with respect to the plans and allowing access to federal courts to obtain remedies. ERISA addresses pension plans in detail but also effects health care plans. Thus, ERISA applies to all employee welfare benefit plans offered by private sector employers or unions whether offered through insurance or a self-funded arrangement. ERISA’s preemption clause states that ERISA “shall supersede any and all state laws insofar as they relate to any employee benefit plan” which would include a health care plan.

Under an ERISA plan such as a self-funded health and welfare fund, i.e. union health insurance, a plaintiff can recover benefits due under the terms of the plan, enforce rights under the plan and receive a clarification of rights to future benefits under a plan. These health care plans outline when a participant must repay them. These plans typically include language such as when “you or your Dependent achieve any recovery whatsoever, through a legal action or settlement in connection with any sickness or injury alleged to have been caused by a third-party, regardless of whether or not some or all of the amount recovered was specifically for medicalor dental expenses for which Plan benefits were paid.” Moreover, it is not uncommon for the ERISA plan fiduciaries to require a beneficiary to sign additional documents before making any payment to a health care provider with respect to medical care for alleged injuries from a personal injury claim. These additional documents typically contain language which includes “I understand that the Fund must be reimbursed for medical benefits or for any benefits paid as a result of an injury or illness if any recovery is made for that injury or illness.” For example, a plaintiff in a state claim may have health insurance through a self-funded health and welfare fund. Continue reading »