More than 400,000 citizens of six foreign countries who live and work in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are able to stay for at least another year.  The countries under the temporary deportation protection program include El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal.  There will be an automatic extension until December 31, 2022 according to a Department of Homeland Security Notice published September 10, 2021.

The current situation is an appropriate time to remind employers of their obligations under federal laws dealing with not only safety protests, but any protests remotely relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.  The National Labor Relations Act protects employees from adverse action from employers for "union or other concerted activity."  Such activities go way beyond union matters, and the new Administration has announced that it will take the broadest possible interpretation to protect employees engaging in "protected concerted activity" for their mutual aid or protection.  Such activity may be two or more employees banding together regarding issues relating to the terms and conditions of employment, or one employee speaking on behalf of others, or even seeking to induce actions by others.  During the pandemic, for example, this writer has experienced numerous incidents of employees not only complaining, but on occasion engaging in sit-ins or walking off the job.

In what many consider President Biden's most bold move regarding COVID-19, he issued an Executive Order on September 9, 2021 in an effort to require that federal employees, federal contractors, and large employers of 100 or more employees require their employees to be vaccinated.  The Executive Order is unprecedented as never before has the government issued a mandate requiring employees to submit to a vaccination or weekly medical testing or risk severe disciplinary action, including termination.  The Executive Order also contemplates requiring covered employers to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated and recover from the vaccination.