USDOL Seeks to Broaden Pandemic Benefit Overpayment Waivers – Administrative Challenges
On February 7, 2022, the US Department of Labor released UI-PL 20-21, Change 1 To provide additional instructions for circumstances under which a state may waive recovery of overpayments under the CARES Act Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs, including elaborating on the criteria for waiving recovery of overpayments where an individual is without fault on an individual, case-by-case basis and expanding [...]
US Supreme Court Vaccination Decisions Impact on Unemployment Compensation
Two US Supreme Court decisions recently addressed the question of whether federal agencies had authority to require that individuals be vaccinated. In one decision the court addressed the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated. In the second decision the Court addressed the [...]
US Supreme Court Vaccination Decision Impacts on Workers’ Compensation
Two US Supreme Court decisions recently addressed the question of whether federal agencies had authority to require that individuals be vaccinated. In one decision the court addressed the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated. In the second decision the Court addressed the [...]
Texas Pays off Loan from Federal Unemployment Account
The Texas Workforce Commission announced today (November 9, 2021), that Governor Abbott signed SB 8 making supplemental appropriations including appropriating approximately $7.2 billion to be used to retire Title XII Advances and replenish the UI Trust Fund to the statutory floor. The bill is effective immediately. Texas was among the list of 10 states and the Virgin Islands that had [...]
New Federal Vaccine Emergency Rules Note that Individuals May be Entitled to Workers’ Compensation
On Friday, November 5, 2021 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID–19 by strongly encouraging vaccination. Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID–19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a [...]
Vaccination Requirement May Impact Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Compensation Determinations
On Thursday, November 4, 2021 the Biden-Harris Administration released a press release describing emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers. See Biden-Harris Administration Issues Emergency Regulation Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers | CMS The press release references emergency regulations issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that may be found at Federal Register [...]