Health Law Advisor

New York has passed sweeping food additive legislation that, if signed by the Governor, will fundamentally reshape how food manufacturers and suppliers operate in the state. The Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act (S1239F) (the “Act”) would establish the first state-level disclosure and database regime for substances that companies have independently determined to be “Generally Recognized as Safe” (“GRAS”). The bill represents a significant escalation in state-level food safety regulation with far-reaching consequences for food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and consumer products companies operating in the New York market.

On June 12, 2021, a federal District Court in Texas soundly rejected an attempt by Houston medical workers to challenge the legality of their employer’s decision to require that all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine. In the lawsuit, Bridges, et al. v. Houston Methodist Hospital et al., 117 hospital workers sued for an injunction to block the hospital’s mandatory vaccination policy as well as the termination of any employee unwilling to comply with the employer’s mandate that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. More specifically, the employees asserted that the ...