In addition to public health challenges, the Covid-19 pandemic has created a host of new hurdles for employers and businesses. As we start to emerge from a period of intense measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus new challenges lie ahead. According to a recent report in The New York Times, many companies are wary of setting deadlines for reopening offices. Instead, they are considering rotational, part-time office attendance or even full-time virtual work models depending on job requirements. Can employees be forced to physically return to the office? If so, how do employers provide for a safe work environment – and how do they shield themselves from potential liability? Conversely, what are the employee‘s responsibilities and rights? Can an employee return to the office if they refuse to get vaccinated? Does workman’s compensation provide benefits to employees getting sick or injured working from home?
Join the American Council on Germany and the Wirtschaftsrunde for a virtual Zoom meeting with Carl Christian Thier, a founding shareholder of Urban Thier & Federer, P.A. He will talk about these questions and the possible impact of the inability to perform a contractual obligation during Covid by highlighting the differences between German and U.S. law.