Charles Gormally

While there is no specific COVID-19 standard that applies to employers and employees not covered by the recent emergency temporary standard (ETS) applicable specifically to employers with employees working in a health-care setting, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to issue citations under the so-called General Duty Clause, Section 5(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as well as specific standards that OSHA believes are applicable to a given situation.

A suit against a New Jersey health care facility will test an employer’s authority to require COVID-19 vaccinations when a worker objects for religious reasons. Plaintiff Kenya Lawton was fired from his job after he declined to receive a coronavirus vaccine, according to the suit he filed Monday in Middlesex County Superior Court. He says his employer disregarded his claim that receiving the vaccine contradicts the teachings of his Messianic Jewish faith. Want to continue reading?