Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Amazon Sued by Colorado Warehouse Workers Over COVID-19 Screening Pay
Oct 18 2021 // Amazon.com Inc. has been accused of violating Colorado state law by failing to pay warehouse workers for time spent undergoing COVID-19 screenings before clocking in at work. Jennifer Vincenzetti, who worked at two Amazon...
Agencies Made Progress With Technology During Pandemic but Data Issues Remain Obstacle to Digital Future
Oct 18 2021 // It’s difficult enough keeping up with the latest trends in agency technology let alone trying to do it during a global pandemic. But industry technology experts say independent agencies made progress, with many...
Texas Bill Would Make Firms Requiring COVID Vaccine Vulnerable to Lawsuits
Oct 15 2021 // As Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican Texas leaders wage a war against vaccination mandates meant to curb COVID-19, a state Senate committee on Oct. 14 advanced legislation that would make any entity, including...
Illinois Healthcare Center Fined $83.6K for Lack of Coronavirus Protections
Oct 14 2021 // Federal workplace safety officials say a Bloomingdale, Illinois, nursing facility failed to protect employees and temporary staff from possible coronavirus hazards a year after an employee died of the disease. OSHA...
Another Wisconsin Parent Sues Over School’s Lack of COVID Protocols
Oct 13 2021 // Another Wisconsin mother has filed a federal lawsuit over the lack of COVID-19 protocols at her son’s school. WEAU-TV reported that Gina Kildahl filed the suit on Oct. 11 in Madison. She’s seeking an injunction...
Federal Judges Uphold Status Quo in Rulings on 3 New York COVID Vaccine Mandates
Oct 13 2021 // Federal judges issued three different decisions on New York state and city requirements for Covid-19 vaccinations, upholding the status quo as the contentious issue winds it way through the court system. New York...
Johnson & Wales University Sues Insurer Over Pandemic Losses
Oct 13 2021 // Johnson & Wales University is suing its insurer over financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, alleging the company breached its contract because it did not allow the university to claim pandemic-related...
Wisconsin School District Sued by Parent Whose Child Contracted COVID-19
Oct 12 2021 // A parent has sued a southeastern Wisconsin school district after her son contracted COVID-19 from a classmate. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Shannon Jensen filed the lawsuit in federal court against the...
Gov. Abbott Bars All COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Texas, Rips Biden for ‘Bullying’
Oct 12 2021 // Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, responding to what he called “bullying” by the Biden Administration, on Oct. 11 barred all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state by any entity, including private...
Looking to 1918 Pandemic for Clues on Emerging From COVID-19
Oct 12 2021 // Karen Baldridge rolled up her sleeve to get her covid-19 booster vaccine. “I’m trying to baby myself and (am) doing everything that I can to keep healthy,” she said this past week while at Excela Square...
Southwest Air Pilots Seek to Block COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Oct 11 2021 // Southwest Airlines Co. pilots asked a court to temporarily block the company from carrying out federally mandated coronavirus vaccinations until an existing lawsuit over alleged U.S. labor law violations is resolved. The...
