Nonprofits Insurance Alliance

Knowing who is providing services on your nonprofit’s behalf — and ensuring they are trained and qualified for the assignments you’ve given them — can save you many headaches and strengthen your overall commitment to the community. It’s an investment that is well worth the time.

The saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but using an image or picture without permission will cost the same, or more, in dollars when you don’t get permission to use it.

For example, a nonprofit was gearing up for an annual fundraising campaign. Everything was ready and all promotional materials had been drafted. But something was missing from the webpage — photographs.

Navigating the ever-changing COVID-19 safety rules has been a compliance nightmare for employers.

Now, hopefully, there will be some certainty for larger employers and those in the healthcare industry as the legality of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine and “vaccinate or test” mandates will finally be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

At issue are two separate orders:

• • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which applies to employers with over 100 workers.
  • The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) healthcare mandate, which is specific to the healthcare industry.

While OSHA’s ETS gives employers the option to test unvaccinated employees for COVID-19, the CMS mandate does not allow for a testing option and requires a vaccination for all covered workers.

OSHA ETS
While prior courts had issued a nationwide stay on the enforcement of the OSHA ETS, on December 17, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed course and dissolved the stay, clearing OSHA to enforce the ETS across the country.

A well-qualified applicant applies for a job at a nonprofit and lands an in-person interview. The applicant explains that their service dog will accompany them. The hiring manager is left with questions: Does the manager have to agree? Does this entail agreeing to permit the service dog in the workplace if the applicant is hired? Can the manager ask the applicant about the service dog in the interview? The manager just doesn’t know how to handle the situation, reasoning that avoidance is the least risky approach.

To answer that question, let’s take an example: A social service nonprofit has a very talented manager who has been with the nonprofit for several years. The manager supervises approximately 10 staff members, most of whom have at least 3 years of experience in this field and a master’s degree in social work.