Page 45 - BusinessWest July 21, 2021

Fly LUGU Flight Training Open House
Aug. 7: Fly LUGU Flight Training will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westfield-Barnes Municipal Airport, located at 110 Airport Road in Westfield. The flight school will celebrate its reopen- ing after the pandemic, and the public is welcome to attend a meet-and-greet with instructors, learn about discounted discovery flights, and enjoy food and music. Interested individuals can call (833) 359- 5848 for more information on flight training.
Three County Fair
Sept. 3-6: The Three County Fair is back, returning on Labor Day weekend. Last year, the COVID-19 health crisis forced the fair to be closed to the pub- lic while hosting only limited arts, baking, crafts, and livestock competitions to comply with capac- ity restrictions. This year, the 204th consecutive fair returns to normal operations and capacities with discounted general admission and four-day passes on sale exclusively at 3countyfair.com. The fair’s attractions include carnival-style rides and games; adult and youth livestock, agricultural, and arts and crafts competitions; live music concerts; area food trucks; comedy variety shows; plus the ever-popular demolition derbies each day. General admission to the fair is $15 for ages 12 and up and free for ages 11 and under, with discounts for seniors and veter- ans. Further discounts are available by purchasing tickets online and in advance on the fair’s website. For example, the four-day pass, sold online only for
$30, is 50% off the gate price for a general-admission adult ticket for four days.
RVCC Golf Tournament
Sept. 10: River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), a multi-faceted mental-health agency, will hold its sixth annual golf tournament fundraiser at East Mountain Country Club in Westfield. The event is presented by Action Ambulance Service Inc. Funds raised will support the programs RVCC provides to children and teens in the community, in schools, and through local partnerships. The cost per golfer is $100 and includes greens fees, a golf cart, a gift bag, lunch, and dinner. Golfers will also be able to partici- pate in course contests and a raffle. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with a 10:30 a.m. shotgun start. Spon- sorship opportunities are available. Visit rvccinc.org/ golf for more information and to register or sponsor online.
Free Concerts at the Big E
Sept. 17 to Oct. 3: The lineup for the Big E’s Court
of Honor Stage has been announced. The tented venue, located in front of the iconic Coliseum at the heart of the fairgrounds, hosts more than 85 shows over the 17-day run of the Big E. All events on the Court of Honor Stage are free with admission to the fair. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Concerts include Modern English (Sept. 17-19, 3 p.m.), Jesse McCartney (Sept. 17, 8 p.m.), Tom Franek (Sept. 17-26, 11 a.m, 1 and 6 p.m.), Foghat (Sept. 19, 8 p.m.), Rainere Martin in the Donna Sum-
under the act would be a confidential, non-public database and used for helping law enforcement and regulators, as well as helping financial institutions to facilitate compliance with customer due-diligence requirements.
The Treasury regulations will determine when and how to comply with the reporting requirements under this new act. Many existing and new entities that for-
to those applied to other types of sensitive personal information, and obtain appropriate consent from employees before disclosing vaccine-related informa- tion to third parties.
Legal Actions
To date, there has been one reported case dealing with mandatory vaccines in the workplace. Similar to the EEOC guidance, the case supports an employer’s right to mandate COVID vaccines.
In April, the Houston Methodist Hospital System in Texas issued a directive requiring that all employ- ees be fully vaccinated by June 7 or they would be placed on a two-week suspension. Employees who were not vaccinated by the end of the suspension period would be terminated.
In late May 2021, more than 100 employees who were not vaccinated, and apparently did not qualify for a disability or religious exemption, filed a law- suit against the hospital raising a number of claims, including wrongful termination. The judge dismissed the lawsuit entirely. In his written decision, the judge expressed his dismay with the plaintiffs for equat- ing the threat of termination for refusing to get the COVID vaccination to the forced medical experimen- tation in concentration camps during the Holocaust, calling the comparison “reprehensible.”
mer Experience (Sept. 20-21, 3 p.m.), the Yardbirds (Sept. 20-21, 8 p.m.), Exile (Sept. 22-23, 3 p.m.), Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Sept. 22, 8 p.m.), 10,000 Maniacs (Sept. 23, 8 p.m.), the Bar-Kays: Soul 2 Soul Revue (Sept. 24-26, 3 p.m.), Ying Yang Twins (Sept. 25, 8 p.m.), Don McLean (Sept. 26, 8 p.m.), the Outlaws (Sept. 27-28, 8 p.m.), the Everly Set (Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, 11 a.m., 1 and 6 p.m.), Big Brother and the Holding Company (Sept. 29-30, 3 p.m.), Lisa Lisa (Sept. 29,
8 p.m.), Tribute to the King featuring Taylor Rodri- guez (Oct. 1-3, 3 p.m.), Hoobastank (Oct. 2, 8 p.m.), and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC (Oct. 3, 8 p.m.). Look for more concert announcements at thebige.com.
Agenda
40 Under Forty Gala
Sept. 23: BusinessWest’s 15th annual 40 Under Forty gala will take place at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The class of 2021 was introduced to the region in the magazine’s May 12 issue, and the profiles may be read online at busi- nesswest.com. Tickets cost $80 per person. This is expected to be a sellout event, and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve a spot, call (413) 781-8600, or e-mail officemanager@ businesswest.com.
merly had limited reporting obligations, and their professional advisors, will need to prepare for a new reporting requirement to FinCEN. u
David Parke is a partner with the Springfield-based firm Bulkley Richardson; (413) 272-6311.
Addressing an argument that the vaccine mandate was contrary to public policy, the judge wrote that the vaccine requirement “is consistent with public policy. The Supreme Court has held that (a) involun- tary quarantine for contagious diseases and (b) state- imposed requirements of mandatory vaccination do not violate due process.”
Bottom Line
While this EEOC guidance and recent decision may seem like a big victory for mandatory COVID vaccines in the workplace, Massachusetts employ- ers should be cautious in relying on them too heavily. The Commonwealth has its own anti-discrimination and public-policy laws, so it’s difficult to predict how this might play out in a state court or administrative proceeding.
In other words, while the decision is encouraging for Massachusetts employers who want to require vaccines, it is important to check in with experienced labor and employment counsel before implementing a mandatory vaccine program. u
John Gannon and Meaghan Murphy are attorneys at the firm Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., in Springfield; (413) 737-4753; [email protected]; [email protected]
Transparency
Continued from page 22
the scope of
the act and reporting mechanisms will be addressed in the regu-
lations. Such questions include what types of entities, in addition to corporations and limited-liability com- panies, and what type of control arrangements will be subject to the reporting requirements.
The information database maintained by FinCEN
Vaccine
Continued from page 24
present an undue hardship.
Vaccination Incentives
where doing so does not
An employer may lawfully provide an incentive
to its employees to obtain COVID-19 vaccination outside the workplace so long as the incentive is not so substantial as to be coercive. Unfortunately, the EEOC did not give any examples of what incentives would be considered ‘so substantial as to be coercive’ and also failed to clarify whether and to what extent an employer must provide a vaccine incentive to employees who are unable to obtain a vaccination due to a medical or religious-based reason.
Confidentiality
An employer’s request for self-disclosure of vac- cination status, or for documentation or other confir- mation that an employee has received a vaccination from a third party (such as a pharmacy or personal physician), is not a medical examination or a disabili- ty-related inquiry. As a result, employers may lawfully request this information without implicating the ADA or GINA.
With that said, employers should restrict access to vaccine-related information, apply safeguards similar
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