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Katherine Hesse, a Partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, presented for the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement System (MACRS) on October 4, 2021 at their fall conference, which was held virtually this year. Ms. Hesse’s segment was titled “COVID-19: Mandatory Vaccinations and Workplace Guidance”. During her presentation, she discussed many of the topics that are on people’s minds today, such as the federal guidance on COVID-19 vaccines, President Biden’s Path Out of the Pandemic COVID-19 Action Plan, the U.S. FDA approval of Pfizer vaccines, OSHA’s latest non-binding COVID-19 guidance, and the U.S. Department of Justice memorandum opinion. Additionally, she described the EEOC’s technical assistance question and answers, the CDC’s workplace vaccination program information page, the NIH key elements of a model workplace safety and health COVID-19 vaccination program, and the bottom line for employers and suggested best practices.

Ms. Hesse practices primarily in labor, employment and employee benefits law. She serves as counsel to Fortune 500 companies, emerging businesses, government, tax-exempt organizations and large Taft-Hartley and governmental trusts. She advises clients on employment and benefits issues, and has litigated employment and benefits cases before state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. Ms. Hesse also served as a professional trustee for public and Taft-Hartley trust funds and as an expert witness, mediator and arbitrator of benefit fund disputes. She led her team of attorneys to be named the only firm in New England and one of only 11 in the United States to the special ERISA fiduciary litigation panel for one of the world’s largest insurance companies. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Foundation and as Chair of its Government Liaison Committee, and sits on the editorial board of Benefits Quarterly and speaks and writes regularly on employment and benefits issues. Ms. Hesse, a CEBS Compliant ISCEBS Fellow, was inducted into the new ISCEBS Hall of Fame in 2018. She received her B.A. degree from Smith College and her J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law.