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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
ABOUT FACE(S) - Remember 13 minutes ago when everyone was still supposed to wear masks even if they were fully vaccinated? Well, it’s a different world now and no one’s sure exactly how to act, whether you’re at the supermarket or a large law firm. As Law.com’s Andrew Maloney reports, some firms, depending on their office locations and local rules, have recently updated policies to allow vaccinated lawyers and staff to unmask, after the CDC this month said vaccinated people could go most places without masks and did not have to social distance. But other law firms are asking their people to keep their masks on for now, due to a combination of local government rules, OSHA guidelines, potentially thorny employment law issues and extra caution on the part of law firm administrators. Lindsay Ryan, a shareholder at Polsinelli who advises employers on compliance, warned that creating different masking standards for different employees may lead to other problems in the workplace, such as harassment. “There are many reasons why it’s just easier to continue to take the conservative route and just require employees to keep wearing masks in the workplace,” Ryan said. “On the other hand, many employers are just so eager to return to some version of normalcy and have people not wearing masks all day in the office.”
