What’s on Our Minds

Uncertainty surrounds Biden’s vaccine mandate, but Wichita’s large companies can start preparing now by Shelby Kellerman, Wichita Business Journal It’s been almost a month since the White House unveiled plans to order large employers with at least 100 workers to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine in their workplaces or require weekly testing of unvaccinated employees — and there’s still a lot of unknowns. It’s a familiar feeling to Wichita companies, who have been in a strange …

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Even if you did not watch the Presidential address to the nation on September 9, you have no doubt seen some sort of breaking news or pop-up announcement indicating that the Executive Office will be “mandating vaccines for all employer with 100+ employees.” To clarify, the vaccine mandate rule will actually be coming from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Currently, OSHA is working on developing a new administrative rule that …

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Paid COVID Leave Benefits for Employees: Act III by Michelle Brenwald Klenda Austerman Employment Attorney In 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provided paid leave benefits to employees for various COVID related reasons. The FFCRA mandated employers with fewer than 500 employees (with limited exceptions) to provide the paid leave benefit through Dec. 31, 2020, in exchange for specific dollar-for-dollar payroll tax credits. Although the “mandate” that employers provide such benefits expired, employers …

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Can Employers Use Liquidated Damages Clauses to Penalize Employees for Breaching an Employment Agreement? by Michael Baumberger, Klenda Austerman Employment Law Attorney A “liquidated damage” is a specified amount of money set forth in a contract and agreed upon by both parties as the amount of damages a breaching party must pay if a breach of contract occurs. Employers often include liquidated damages clauses in employment agreements in order to punish or penalize their ex-employees …

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Klenda Austerman Attorney Lauren Wright recently had an article published in the Kansas Bar Association “Oil, Gas, & Mineral Law Section Newsletter.” She reported on oil and gas litigation regarding an ACLU case filed against former Kansas Corporation Commission’s (KCC) deputy general counsel arising out of two environmentalists’ participation in protests that opposed oil and gas activities across Kansas. Before moving to private practice, Lauren spent two years as litigation counsel for the state, representing …

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Security concerns and drone law are often an afterthought for individual entrepreneurs and companies interested in incorporating drones into their business models. This can have serious consequences for unsuspecting operators. Ethan McInteer, Klenda Austerman Aviation Attorney, examines these issues and more in his article, Adapting to the Times: The Questionable Applicability of Article 3bis to Cyberweapons Demands New Approach to Safeguarding International Commercial Drone Operations, which is featured in the Autumn 2020 edition of Issues …

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COVID paid leave benefits for employees extended … kind of. As Americans anxiously await an update on the status of the next stimulus package, many employers have been asking the Employment  Law Attorneys at Klenda Austerman what the ongoing economic relief efforts mean for employees who will need time off due to COVID after the first of the year. With paid time off benefits under the Families First Corona Virus Response Act (FFCRA) set to …

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CAN THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRE YOU TO GET A COVID-19 VACCINE? With the recent rollout of the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine, many are wondering whether the government can require individuals to take the vaccine, or any vaccine for that matter. Klenda Austerman attorney, Michael Baumberger addresses this question through the lens of a previous court ruling for the smallpox vaccination. Can the government require individuals to take a COVID-19 vaccine? The short answer is …

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The employment attorneys at Klenda Law have been fielding questions from corporations and HR professionals regarding the quarantine and isolation guidelines as Coronavirus spread increases in the Wichita community. The CDC has defined close contact and has set guidelines based on the researching the most effective way to control community spread. Per their recommendation, if you have been in close contact with someone who tested positive, you should fully complete a quarantine of 14 days …

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It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our colleague and friend, Val Wachtel, who passed away on October 26, 2020. Val was a man who believed in the founding principles of our country, and backed those beliefs by completing five visits in Vietnam as a Green Beret Airborne Ranger and fighting for the constitutional right everyone has to a fair defense. Val’s legal practice experience was varied, spanning from Kansas to California …

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