Legal Updates

On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA or the Act), [1] which, if enacted, would be the first federal enhancement of family and medical leave for private sector workers since the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993. While the BBBA does not go as far as initially proposed (12 weeks of paid leave), it would expand upon the FMLA’s current unpaid protections by providing up to four weeks of paid caregiving leave. Further, the BBBA would allow paid leave benefits for a broader group of eligible workers and for additional qualifying family members beyond those covered by the FMLA. If enacted, the paid family leave program would become effective January 2024.

As we previously reported, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) interim final rule (“the Rule”) requiring full COVID-19 vaccination for staff and others at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers (i.e., the “vaccine mandate”) has been challenged in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri (“the Missouri Court”) and the Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division (“the Louisiana Court”).  As of the date of this writing, both Courts have granted preliminary injunctions placing the Rule on hold.