A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Tag: Coronavirus

Seventh Circuit Holds University’s Mandatory COVID Vaccination Policy Does Not Violate Constitutional Rights

By on August 4, 2021 in NJ School Law, Students with 0 Comments

By: Gitika Kapoor, Law ClerkEditor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq On August 2, 2021, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Klaassen v. Trustees of Indiana University held that Indiana University, a public educational institution, may continue its policy to require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to return to campus for the fall semester. The Court held that the vaccine requirement does not violate a student’s substantive due process rights under Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate offers two exemptions: medical and religious. In light of safety concerns arising from the risk […]

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Regulations Impose Vast Obligations on Public Bodies Conducting Remote Meetings

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (“DLGS”) issued Local Finance Notice 2020-21 to further explain the new emergency regulations for remote public meetings held during a declared emergency.  The emergency regulations were promulgated by the Director of DLGS in accordance with Section 8 of newly enacted L. 2020, c. 34, and are codified as N.J.A.C. 5:39-1.1. through 1.7.  The emergency regulations aim to ensure continuity of government operations and transparency in conducting public business when an emergency requires a governing body, subject to the Open Public Meetings Act, to hold meetings remotely.  […]

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EEOC Clarifies Allowable COVID 19 Testing For Employees

Below is an article written by my colleague, Ralph R. Smith, Esq., Co-Chair of our firm’s Labor & Employment Group. If you wish to view additional articles and/or be kept up-to-date with labor & employment issues, visit our HR Resource blog by clicking here. Over the last several months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has continued to refine its past issued Guidances on what employers can do to safeguard employees from COVID-19 workplace exposure. One such measure that employers can utilize is mandating that all employees be tested for COVID-19.  But previously the EEOC never said what type of testing can be done. […]

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NJDOE Issues Guidance on ESY 2020 During COVID-19 Pandemic

On June 12, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Education (“NJDOE”) provided guidance to school districts on the delivery of extended school year (“ESY”) services to eligible students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NJDOE’s guidance was in response to the Governor’s recent Executive Order 149 allowing for in-person ESY programming beginning on or after July 6, 2020. Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and corresponding New Jersey regulations, once a school district determines that a student with disability requires additional educational services during the summer, the school district is required to include an ESY program […]

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COVID-19 and The High Risk Employee

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. Below is an article written by my colleague, Ralph R. Smith, Esq., Co-Chair of our firm’s Labor & Employment Group. If you wish to view additional articles and/or be kept up-to-date with labor & employment issues, visit our HR Resource blog by clicking here. With businesses reopening thanks to modifications of state stay at home orders, employers are beginning to contemplate what their new work environments will look like when employees return. Over the past several months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (‘EEOC”) has provided guidance to employers regarding the ways that a company can safeguard its […]

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CDC Issues Interim Guidance for Opening of Schools Following COVID-19 Closures

By on May 21, 2020 in NJ School Law, Other with 0 Comments

Earlier this week the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released guidance for K-12 school administrators on the reopening of schools.  The guidance is titled “Interim Guidance for Resuming Schools and Day Camps.” The largest section of the guidance is the Social Distancing section which encouraging schools to promote social distancing to the fullest extent possible.  Steps 1 and 2 of the promotion of social distancing include suggestions, such as student and staff groupings remaining static (same students with same staff members), cancelling of field trips, inter-group events and extracurricular activities, limitations on gatherings, and restrictions on non-essential visitors […]

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New Law Permitting Remote Instruction Also Requires Payment of Compensation and Benefits to School Employees and Other Entities

By on April 15, 2020 in Legislation, NJ School Law with 0 Comments

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq.  On April 14, 2020, Governor Murphy signed A3904/S2337 into law which permits use of virtual and remote instruction to meet the minimum 180 day school year requirement. The new law does not stop there.  The law requires payment of benefits, compensation and emoluments to school employees as if school remained open during the school closure (irrespective of whether employees are covered by a collective negotiations agreement) and to a contract service provider pursuant to the terms of the contract in effect prior to the school closure as if the services had been provided.  Additionally, A3904 […]

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GRC Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Impacts on OPRA

As previously addressed on this blog, on March 20, 2020, Governor Murphy signed Assembly Bill No. 3849 into law which relaxes the deadline by which public agencies are required to respond to requests for government records under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) during a period of a declared emergency, such as the current COVID-19 health crisis. On March 26, 2020 the Government Records Council (“GRC”) issued a special statement regarding the modification. Under normal circumstances, the custodian of records of a public agency must respond to an OPRA request within seven (7) business days by either granting access to […]

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Are You Ready: Summary of Federal COVID-19 Leave Laws

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. Below is an article written by my colleagues, Ralph R. Smith, Esq., Co-Chair of our firm’s Labor & Employment Group, and Lara M. Ruggerio, Esq., a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. The article summarizes two new federal leave laws dealing with employee work absences resulting from the COVID 19 crisis. If you wish to view additional articles and/or be kept up-to-date with labor & employment issues, visit our HR Resource blog by clicking here. As of April 1, 2020, employers must now comply with the two new federal leave laws recently passed […]

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NJDOE Finally Releases Notice Stating Permissibility of Delivering Related Services to Special Education Students through Remote Technology

Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. With most schools in New Jersey closed for nearly two weeks, and all closed since Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 107 on March 21, 2020, school districts across the State have been awaiting further guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education (“NJDOE”) on the important issue of whether NJDOE would permit the provision of related services to special education students through remote technology and distance learning during this period of school closure due to the COVID-19 virus.  That much-awaited guidance came yesterday, as Commissioner of Education Dr. Lamont Repollet issued a letter titled “Notice […]

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