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Can Employers Require Workers to Get Vaccinated against Covid-19?

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Can employers require workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19? It is not simply a Yes or No answer. As of last Friday, the percentage of fully vaccinated US citizens stood at 39.6%, a stark contrast to the 5% of the worldwide population that are fully vaccinated. Despite this remarkable achievement, six out of ten Americans remain unvaccinated against Covid-19.

According to law, can employers require workers to get vaccinated

Under the law, an employer can generally require its workers to be vaccinated and can also fire an employee who refuses to do so. Some notable exceptions, however, exist to the general rule. For example, if a work force is unionized, the collective bargaining agreement may require negotiating with the union before an employer can implement a vaccine requirement.

Anti-discrimination laws also provide some protections to workers that are disabled. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA), workers who do not want to be vaccinated for specific medical reasons are eligible to request an exemption. In this case, an employer may need to provide reasonable accommodation, such as allowing the employee to work remotely. Another exception exists under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, if taking the vaccine would conflict with a sincerely held religious belief, a worker may be able to opt out of a vaccine requirement.

Emergency use authorization

Before the pandemic, the general position of the relevant federal agencies, such as the FDA and the CDC, was that vaccines provided under emergency use authorization cannot be mandated. But that guidance was not binding. When confronted with pandemic realities, the federal government took the position that “[w]hether an employer may require or mandate Covid-19 vaccination is a matter of state or other applicable law.” And in most states, employees are “at will,” meaning they can be terminated for any reason that is not explicitly illegal.

According to a recent article authored by law professors at UC Hastings and Harvard, those arguing that the emergency use authorization statute prohibits mandates by at-will employers are claiming that this federal law is changing existing state employment law on the topic by mere implication. Such a broad prohibition covering all employers and universities in the U.S. is not, however, in the statute. Such a blanket preemption, conclude these law professors, would require clearer language, and the status of authorization (whether full or emergency) is a red herring when it comes to the mandating of Covid-19 vaccinations.

#TRUCKING DANGER: SAY NO TO HB19 & SB17!

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Republished from Texas Watch www.texaswatch.org

Large truck danger

Year after year, Texas has the highest number of large truck wrecks in the nation. From 2016 to 2019, the number of truck crashes in our state increased by almost 30%. To protect the lives of Texas families, we need more safety measures, not less. Legislation pushed by trucking lobbyists will endanger all of us on the roads.

HB19 and SB17 will harm families devastated by 18-wheeler wrecks. These bills give trucking corporations less incentive to follow safety measures, which means you and your family will be at greater risk on the roads. The bills will make it harder to punish trucking companies through our courts when they violate safety standards. When bad actors do not follow the rules, they need to be held fully accountable by a jury of our peers in order to help protect us all. And when recklessness causes death, serious injuries, or the inability to work, trucking companies must take responsibility.

Please contact your Texas state legislators and let them know you oppose HB19 and SB17!

Thoughts on a Year in Pandemic

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Thoughts on a year in pandemic at DuBose Law Firm.

Everyday life was upended last Spring as the entire globe entered the COVID19 pandemic.  A year later and much is still in flux.  Certainly, incredible loss and tragedy became all too common.  Now though, a bit of hope is in the air.  The end of the pandemic isn’t here yet, but maybe we can see it off in the distance.

For DuBose Law Firm,  it’s been a year not only of challenges, but also of persistence and innovation.  Through it all, we’ve remained true to our core purpose: helping individuals who have been harmed.  

DuBose Law Firm pressed forward with the first ever remote live stream oral argument before the Tennessee Supreme Court,  an in-person bench trial in Texas and numerous depositions and hearings via Zoom. Like most businesses, we began working remotely in March 2020.  We’re also taking this time to use even more technology in our practice.  Finally, as we start to physically return to our desks, we’ve incorporated COVID19 policies and measures to ensure a safe work place.   

The pandemic didn’t just throw our practice a curveball – it threw sand into the wheels of justice.  Social distancing and other public health measures brought traditional American jury trials to a halt.  Courts responded by experimenting with Zoom trials.  Some started with jury selection via Zoom followed by socially distanced trials at the courthouse.  Other courts conducted entire trials by Zoom.  Now, increasing vaccination rates may soon bring us back to in-person jury trials.  Dallas County Courts, for instance, just announced that in-person jury trials will resume beginning in June.

We count our blessings and are proud of the persistence and hard work of our law firm over the past year to continue to help and support our clients.  While we can hopefully begin see the end of the pandemic taking shape, we will never forget this past year or the 565,000 Americans who have died to date from COVID19.

Please continue to protect yourself and your loved ones.  Continue to wear masks, socially distance and get vaccinated.  Better days are ahead. 

Less Traffic, More Fatalities

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When the Covid-19 pandemic lock down began in earnest March of 2020, streets took on an eerie emptiness rarely seen in the Dallas area. It would seem to be good thing; in fact, there were fewer accidents and you would expect fewer serious personal injuries. However, an interesting statistic emerged that with less traffic, more fatalities happened.

In the four counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton, there were 72 more fatalities than during the same period in 2019. These totaled 480 deaths from vehicle accidents. Robert Wunderlich with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute said, “It’s a very interesting phenomenon. We were surprised to see that. What you would like to see is a proportional decrease in serious crashes in conjunctions with the decrease in total crashes.”

Less traffic, more fatalities: Why?

A couple of reasons came to the forefront. Speed was number one. With fewer cars on the road, people felt they could exceed the speed limit. Engineers are now studying ways to reduce risks on less congested highways.

Another behavior adding to the deaths is an increased use of alcohol and drugs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “drug prevalence was high among seriously and fatally injured roadway users before the public health emergency began and was even higher during, especially for alcohol, cannabinoids (active THC), and opioids.” Before the pandemic, 50% of serious or fatal accidents involved these thought-altering substances. Now these account for 65% of serious or fatal accidents.

Are there other factors?

Perhaps not as directly involved with the problem of less traffic, more fatalities, but definitely a contributor, is the condition of streets and roadways throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

In 2017, Dallas had the 5th highest rate of fatal traffic accidents among the largest 25 cities in the U.S. In addition, it has a backlog of $2 billion in unfunded street improvement needs. Not surprising that so many streets are in disrepair. Also in 2017, Ft. Worth had the 6th highest fatality rate of the same study.

Not only are accidents caused by bad drivers, but by poorly marked lanes, illegible or non-existent signage, pot holes and a myriad of other factors. These are not only an on-site problem, but can damage cars leading to brakes needing repair and other vehicle damage.

In a Dallas City Council traffic safety plan briefing, it was noted that half of the serious accidents in Dallas are on just 8% of the city’s streets. At that meeting, the council endorsed a program called Vision Zero, run by a non-profit group. Its goal is to improve safety on those streets desperately needing attention with the target of zero fatalities.

How to stay safe?

Obviously, first is to be a good driver yourself – no speeding, no thought-altering drugs while driving.

If you live or work in Dallas, there is an interactive map showing street status, planned work, and bond projects. A look at this may help avoid an accident or car repair.

Last, remember to be a defensive driver. A long-remembered line from drivers’ training, “You can be right, dead right as you speed along, but just as dead as if you’d been wrong.”

Stay safe.

Cancer Diagnoses Declining as COVID-19 Fears Rise

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Generally, to find cancer diagnoses declining would be good news, but this decline is due to fewer people willing to risk COVID-19 for a doctor visit. Six common cancers and their diagnoses were studied: breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, gastric and esophageal. A 46% decrease was found between March 1 and April 18 – the same time period the public was warned to stay away from doctors’ offices and emergency departments unless it was a true emergency.

safe doctor office practices to change cancer diagnoses declining

Since that time, safety procedures were put in place that lessened worry about these visits. Even though the warnings about visits are much fewer, the initial fear of visits – leading to diagnoses – are still less than pre-Pandemic.

How was the study conducted?

Quest analyzed tests ordered by doctors who entered the code for ‘new cancer diagnosis’. They began with a baseline covering January 2019 through February 2020. In the following seven weeks, March 1 through April 18, the mean weekly number for all six types of cancer diagnoses decreased 46.4% for those newly diagnosed with cancer. Quest found that in the baseline and pandemic studies, women with a mean age of 66 comprised 75% of their patients.

What does cancer diagnoses declining mean to patients?

Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institiute, stated this delay of diagnoses could mean 10,000 unnecessary deaths from breast and colorectal cancer over the next ten years. He also said, “We’re very worried about the consequences of … delaying therapy on our patients. We can’t delay cancer care forever.” This could be trading the COVID-19 crisis for a late cancer diagnosis crisis. The United States now has 163, 651 deaths from COVID-19 as of August 11, 2020. This is a huge number.

Other effects of COVID-19

The purpose of the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) is to collect electronic health data in real time. They found that visits to emergency departments declined by 42% comparing March 31 – April 27, 2019  to March 29 – April 25, 2020.  This data covered visits from a subset of hospitals in 47 states. This led to acquiring data from approximately 73% of emergency department visits in the United States.

This demonstrates that patients afraid of going to the doctor’s office, also were slow to go to the emergency room. A person with arm or chest pain may decide it’s better to wait and see what happens than go to the emergency room, leading to a potential heart attack. Visits for nonspecific chest pain decreased by over 24,000 during the early pandemic.

They may try to ignore a severe headache and treat with OTC remedies when it could be a treatable stroke. They also may hesitate to go with abdominal pain, musculoskeletal pain, high blood pressure, and nausea and vomiting, respiratory infections – as well as sprains and strains. While some of these might be minor, others could lead to serious illness or death.

Those who use emergency departments as their primary healthcare – usually because of lack of access to primary care – may be significantly affected, leading to avoidance of their normal safety net.

What to do?

Authorities, and the media, must stress doctor visits, regular checkups and needed tests are still necessary to stop the number of cancer diagnoses declining. They must also reassure the public that health facilities have guidelines in place for monitoring entrance to facilities, mandatory face masks, and social distancing. All facilities need frequent access to approved hand sanitizers and hand washing stations. Good use of phone and video calls for triage can quickly assess emergency situations and limit crowds. For those afraid that telemedicine may not be covered with their insurance, check with providers. Currently, because of the emergency status, most insurances are paying as if in-person. In most cases, that also includes Medicare.

While COVID-19 is serious and can be deadly, so can ignoring early detection of cancer and other health risks.

Cancer diagnoses declining is the canary in the mine warning everyone that this is not a time to neglect health care.