No, not unless you, yourself, have a disability that makes you more likely to contract the virus. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require your boss to provide an accommodation to you in order to protect a vulnerable family member. However, some employers have been willing to accommodate employees who find themselves in your situation, although they are not legally bound to do so. Ask Joan C. Lenihan, Attorney at Law, to work with you and your employer.

Under federal law and local law, an employer can require employees to get vaccinated in order to enter the workplace unless an individual employee has a disability that would be impacted by the vaccine or a sincerely held religious belief that prevents the employee from being vaccinated. In these cases, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation to the employee, unless doing so presents an undue hardship to the employer and/or would provide a direct threat to workplace health or safety. Mistrust and fear of the vaccine would not qualify for a reasonable accommodation, unless you also have a preexisting mental condition such as anxiety disorder or PTSD that has exacerbated your fears. Contact Joan C. Lenihan, Attorney at Law, to discuss your options.

No. Your boss is not obligated to pay to get you to and from work. That is your responsibility. The General Duty Clause of the Occupational, Safety, and Health Act of 1970 requires that your boss provide a safe and healthful workplace that is free from serious recognized hazards. According to what you have described, it appears that your employer is complying with the law.

The owner of the coffee shop is a private employer and has a right to ask his employees to be vaccinated as long as he does so in a non-discriminatory way. For example, it would be illegal if the owner only required Asian workers to be vaccinated, based on the false belief that they would more likely have the virus. The owner also has a duty to provide a safe workplace for his employees (see #3). He has decided that having employees get vaccinated is how he wants to ensure a safe and healthy environment. You would not qualify for an accommodations as they are only mandated in certain instances (see #2). At this time there is no federal mandate requiring the general population to get vaccinated, but there is authority that states can require vaccines to protect public health. Given this set of circumstances, I agree that you do have the right to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine but not the right to a job by a private employer who requires employees to get vaccinated.

Your Power of Attorney will be grandfathered into the new law as long as it was validly executed in accordance with the laws in effect at the time of execution. This holds true for all Powers of Attorney but they, like your other estate documents, should be periodically updated.  If you have any questions about your Power of Attorney or other estate planning documents, you can reach out to Joan C. Lenihan, Attorney at Law, via Zoom.

At the very least, you need a Health Care Proxy and a Power of Attorney. The Health Care Proxy will name an agent to make health care decisions for you and the Power of Attorney appoints an agent (s) to deal with your financial matters. But you should already have these documents, as well as a Will and a Living Will. Do not wait until there is an emergency to protect yourself and your assets. Contact Joan C. Lenihan, Attorney at Law, to assist you with drawing up your estate plan.

There is a strong likelihood that you will not be successful. Your Dad did not own the Instagram or blog platforms. He had a license to use them until he passed away. At that point, Instagram and the blog platform, the custodians of these electronic records, took control of your Dad’s accounts. You, as his executor, could only access your Dad’s “digital assets” if he gave you permission to do so. Instagram, YouTube, online bank accounts, and Twitter are examples of digital assets. While some other platforms such as Google and Facebook offer options such as the Inactive Manager or Legacy Contact, these options are specific to those particular platforms. This is why it is so important to choose someone who will control your digital assets after you die. Joan C.Lenihan, Attorney at Law, will ensure that this is part of your estate plan.

If you have designated beneficiaries on your assets they will go to those individuals regardless of whether or not you have a will. However, any real or personal property that does not have a beneficiary designation will become part of your estate. If you do not prepare a will, an administrator will be appointed to distribute any assets without beneficiary designations or that have not been placed in trust. The administrator must distribute your assets in accordance with the New York Estate, Powers and Trust Law (EPTL) 4-4.1. Make an appointment with Joan C. Lenihan, Attorney at Law, to ensure that your estate plan reflects your wishes.