Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Biden COVID-19 Vaccine Rules for Businesses Prompt Republican Backlash
Nov 5 2021 // President Joe Biden will enforce a mandate that workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly starting Jan. 4, spurring legal challenges from Republican governors...
Missouri Judge Rules in Favor of Insurer in COVID-19 Business-Interruption Claim
Nov 3 2021 // A Kansas City jury decided in favor of the insurer in the nation’s first jury trail of a lawsuit that sought coverage for business-interruption losses caused by the coronavirus. The jury for the U.S. District Court...
States Sue to End Biden COVID Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
Nov 1 2021 // Eighteen states filed three separate lawsuits Friday to stop President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors, arguing that the requirement violates federal law. Attorneys general from Alaska,...
UK Baker Greggs Files $137M Claim Against Zurich Over COVID-19 Payout
Nov 1 2021 // UK baker Greggs Plc filed a $137 million (£100 million) legal claim against Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance Group in a disagreement over a pandemic-related insurance payout, according to a report in the Sunday...
Iowa Governor Signs Law Allowing Exemptions to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Nov 1 2021 // Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Oct. 29 signed into law a bill that allows Iowa workers to seek medical and religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates and guarantees that those who are fired for refusing a vaccine will...
Report Sounds Alarm Over Workers With Long-Term COVID-19 Symptoms
Nov 1 2021 // About 10% of people who contracted COVID-19 continue to suffer persistent symptoms months later, creating the potential for millions of people to suffer functional impairment for extended lengths of time, according to a...
Texas Workers’ Comp Telemedicine Utilization Soared During Pandemic
Nov 1 2021 // Utilization of telemedicine services in the Texas workers’ compensation rose dramatically during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recently published report from the Texas Department of Insurance...
Uncovering Opportunities in the Shifting Landscape Emerging from COVID-19
Nov 1 2021 // As I write this, in the fall of 2021, it’s now clear that we are going to be living and working with COVID-19 for the indeterminant future – perhaps forever. Regardless of one’s opinions about vaccines,...
California Workers’ Comp Hospital Stays Decline as COVID Affects Quantity and Types of Admissions
Oct 29 2021 // The latest update to California Workers’ Compensation Institute research on California workers’ compensation inpatient hospital stays shows the number of injured worker hospitalizations fell 17.2% in 2020,...
Arkansas Sues Medical Supplier for $11M for Failed COVID Supplies Delivery
Oct 29 2021 // The state of Arkansas filed a consumer protection lawsuit Wednesday against a Virginia-based medical supplier for nearly $11 million for failing to deliver supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, Attorney General Leslie...
Judge Rejects Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Bid to Block COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Oct 28 2021 // A federal judge has rejected a bid by pilots to block Southwest Airlines from imposing a vaccine mandate, saying the Dallas-based airline is within its power to require vaccination as a safety measure. U.S. District Judge...
Report Finds Meat Plant Workers’ COVID Cases Much Higher Than Previous Estimates
Oct 28 2021 // Workers at the leading U.S. meatpacking plants experienced cases and death from COVID-19 that were up to three times previous estimates, according to a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis seen...
For Home Insurers, Weather Proves More Costly While COVID Measures Lower Claims
Oct 28 2021 // Catastrophic weather events such as wildfires, hurricanes and floods caused 39% of home insurance claims in 2020 – the highest percentage in the last six years. According to the 2021 LexisNexis Home Trends Report, the...
California Labor Commissioner Cites Grocer $1.1M for COVID Sick Leave Practices
Oct 26 2021 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Bodega Latina (dba El Super grocery stores) in Southern California $1,164,500 for failing to provide or delaying supplemental paid sick leave or other benefits to 240...
Texas Workers’ Compensation Saw Telemedicine Services Skyrocket During Pandemic
Oct 22 2021 // Utilization of telemedicine services in the Texas workers’ compensation rose dramatically during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recently published report from the Texas Department of Insurance...
U.S. Urges Global Intellectual Property Waiver for COVID-19 Vaccines
Oct 22 2021 // The White House on Thursday called on all World Trade Organization members to support an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines. “We … need every WTO member to step up as well and support an...
3 States Could Lose Their Workplace Safety Authority for Refusing COVID Rules
Oct 21 2021 // The Biden administration threatened Tuesday to revoke the authority for three Republican-controlled states to handle their own workplace safety enforcement because they have refused to adopt rules to protect health care...
Missouri County Approves $146.7K Settlement to Church’s COVID Lawsuit
Oct 20 2021 // Officials in Missouri’s Jackson County approved a settlement with a church that had sued over COVID-19 restrictions that it claimed discriminated against religion. The Jackson County Legislature voted to approve a...
Business Groups Rally Against, Block Texas Bill to Ban COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Oct 19 2021 // Bills intended to block any Texas entity, including hospitals and private businesses, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees failed to pass the Texas Legislature before lawmakers adjourned the third special...
Pandemic Underscores Need to Diversify Tahoe’s Tourist Economy
Oct 19 2021 // The COVID-19 pandemic helped expose the growing vulnerability of Lake Tahoe’s increasingly tourism-dependent economy as housing costs balloon, year-round residency declines and more workers commute from afar or seek...
