In a letter to President Joe Biden today, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III expresses concerns about the legality of a recently announced nationwide COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirement for businesses with at least 100 employees. Slatery says the proposal is too broad and likely violates federal law, including both the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the U.S. Constitution. Read more about his concerns.

Federal Judge Sheryl Lipman is expected to make a ruling this week in the lawsuit over Gov. Bill Lee’s Executive Order 84, which allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates, the Daily Memphian reports. Three families who have children with disabilities filed suit over Lee’s order, arguing that it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Lipman granted a temporary restraining order against the opt out policy on Sept. 3. It is set to expire on Friday. The plaintiffs have also requested class-action status in the suit and their attorney, Bryce Ashby, believes a ruling on that matter will also come quickly. State’s attorney Jim Newsom argued in a hearing last week that school districts can be creative and work outside normal limits to find solutions for students who are vulnerable to serious consequences if around other unmasked students.

A new mask requirement went into effect yesterday in Washington County sessions court, which includes civil, juvenile and Tennessee Highway Patrol matters, News Channel 11 reports. “In response to a rise in COVID-19 numbers, Judges Robert Lincoln, Don Arnold and Janet Hardin are requesting all parties wear masks while in their courtrooms,” Washington County Communications Director Susan Saylor said in an email. The mask requirement does not extend to other courts inside the George Jaynes Justice Center or other county offices.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has extended its waiver of in-person CLE requirements through 2022. The high court again extended the temporary suspension of Rule 21, sections 3.01(c) and 4.02(c), due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The order is effective through December 31, 2022. Read the full order.  

Tennessee Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and 72 other state House Republicans are calling for a special session in response to President Joe Biden's newly-announced vaccine policy, the Nashville Post reports. The new policy, to be administered by OSHA, requires companies with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccines or test employees for COVID-19 on a weekly basis. Casada said the group wants the session to weigh the options for challenging the plan. In related news, Tennessee’s top officials, including Attorney General Herbert Slatery, are reviewing the requirement, Mainstreet Nashville reports. 

A federal judge has alerted the U.S. Marshals Service to at least one threat made to a Collierville family who is suing Gov. Bill Lee over his mask opt-out order for schools. U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman also asked attorneys for the parents in the case to notify her of any other threats received, the Commercial Appeal reports. According to a police report, the family has received multiple online messages since they brought a suit to federal court, but one Facebook post was particularly “alarming” police said.

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer in Knoxville has denied the request for a temporary restraining order against Gov. Bill Lee’s Executive Order 84, which allows parents to opt out of school mask mandates, the Associated Press reports. The parents of three Knox County Schools students filed suit against Lee’s order last week. Greer ruled that the plaintiffs didn’t file an affidavit or verified complaint, so they “have not demonstrated that they would suffer immediate and irreparable injury or loss.” A hearing is set for next week to address the lawsuit’s request to block the executive order and require a mask mandate in Knox County Schools, where officials have voted against instituting one. Greer's ruling is at odds with a similar case in Shelby County, where a federal judge in Memphis last week temporarily blocked Lee's order after a suit was filed by the parents of children with health problems.

Charles Levada Shelton, 31, a man being held at Hamilton County’s Silverdale Jail, has died of COVID-19 complications, the Chattanoogan reports. Shelton is the second Silverdale inmate to die from complications of the virus in recent weeks. Morghan Jean Elmore died from apparent COVID-19 complications late last month shortly after she’d given birth in a local hospital. The Silverdale facility is owned by Hamilton County and is run through a private third party. Because this is considered an in-custody death, the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office has requested the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division to conduct an investigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order allowing schools to opt out of mask mandates, the Commercial Appeal reports. Bryce Ashby, an attorney representing the two families who filed suit on behalf of their children with disabilities, says he believes the order will apply to all schools in the county, including private and religious schools. WPLN reports that a mask mandate, without the option to opt out, went into effect this morning in Shelby County. Lipman’s order states the temporary restraining order will remain in effect until Sept. 17, unless the court moves to dissolve it earlier or extend it. A preliminary injunction hearing in the matter will be held Thursday.

The TBA Executive Committee held its second specially set meeting today to determine necessary restrictions on in-person events due to the recent spread of the Delta variant, hospitalizations and strain on public health resources across the state. The TBA will continue to monitor upcoming events and make determinations on continuing those events as scheduled on a case by case basis. All in-person, indoor TBA events, meetings and programs will have the following restrictions through February 2022:

• Masking will be required for attendees and staff regardless of vaccination status for indoor events. Masking for outdoor events is optional.
   
• Social distancing will be required and attendance may be limited to ensure compliance at all in-person events.
   
• Proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event, meeting or program will be required for participation at in-person indoor events.

If applicable, TBA will comply with the more restrictive protocols and requirements of the host venue at the time of the event, meeting or program. All CLE programs will proceed virtually through 2021 with the exception of the Animal Law Forum, which will be held outside and socially distanced at the Nashville Zoo on Sept. 24.

This policy is effective immediately through February 2022.