COVID-19 Updates for Healthcare Professionals

Janauary 14, 2022

Leave for Employees Sick With COVID:  Currently, federal law generally does not require employers to provide paid leave to employees who are absent from work because they are sick with COVID-19, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are caring for someone with COVID-19.  Federal FAQs are available here. 

Federal Vaccine Mandates: On January 7, the Supreme Court is holding a special session to consider whether the federal vaccine mandates will be allowed to be implemented. We will keep you updated on this issue.

Quarantine Requirements for Health Care Workers: CDC guidance on quarantine requirements have been evolving. In the health care setting, individual facilities are given some flexibility with regard to quarantine requirements and staffing.  A chart on recommended quarantine guidelines for health care workers can be accessed here.

The Supreme Court ruled on the Biden Administration vaccine mandates and has halted implementation of the mandate for employers with more than 100 employees. However, the Court is allowing the HHS mandate for health care workers in certain settings to stand. As a reminder, the HHS mandate only applies to certain facilities as noted below. Doctors of optometry and their staff who work exclusively in physician offices are not impacted by the HHS mandate. AOA’s FAQ on this issue has been updated.

Impacted facilities (if the facility accepts Medicare and Medicaid funds)

• Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)
• Hospices
• Psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs)
• Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
• Hospitals (acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, hospital swing beds, long term care hospitals, children’s hospitals, transplant centers, cancer hospitals, and rehabilitation hospitals/inpatient rehabilitation facilities)
• Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities, including Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and Nursing Facilities (NFs), generally referred to as nursing homes
• Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs-IID)
• Home Health Agencies (HHAs)
• Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CORFs)
• Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)
• Clinics, rehabilitation agencies, and public health agencies as providers of outpatient physical therapy and speech-language pathology services
• Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs)
  Home Infusion Therapy (HIT) suppliers
• Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)/Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
• End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Facilities