Besides the health and economic devastation that the COVID-19 pandemic has left in its wake, it has also caused supply chain disruptions that have affected a number of industries. The fallout for companies of all types illustrates the fragility of most businesses' supply chains. The pandemic has left retailers with half-empty shelf space because product manufacturers couldn't keep operations going due to raw material or personnel shortages, while a number of carmakers and other manufacturers have had to suspend operations because of a global semiconductor shortage. But it's not only large companies that suffer, and small businesses are especially vulnerable.…

A new law will make it easier for insurers to settle workers' compensation claims with older workers who are enrolled in Medicare, in an attempt to resolve an issue that can sometimes drive up premiums for affected employers. The law adds transparency by letting workers' comp insurers inquire about whether Medicare may have been used to pay for any part of the claim. Often this is shrouded in secrecy, requiring the insurer to add reserves to the claim to pay for any potential demands from Medicare to recoup outlays it may have made for treatment of the worker. Medicare is…

In the last month of the Trump administration, the Labor Department finalized a regulation to clarify for employers which workers are employees and which are independent contractors. Because independent contractors are typically ineligible for employee benefits, businesses have an incentive to classify workers that way. The new regulation's purpose is to make answering the question easier. The regulation employs an "economic reality test" that courts have developed over the years. It asks "whether, as a matter of economic reality, the workers depend upon someone else's business for the opportunity to render service or are in business for themselves." This test…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has affirmed that employers can mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, subject to some limitations. The EEOC's updated guidance offers direction regarding employer-mandated vaccinations, accommodations for employees who cannot be vaccinated due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief, and certain implications of pre-vaccination medical screening questions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Asking a patient pre-screening questions is a routine part of a vaccination. These questions may constitute a "medical examination" as defined by the ADA. An employer must be able to show that the inquiries are…