UK law firm PGMBM initiated court proceedings on Monday against the government over the Hotel Quarantine Policy, requiring that returners from “red list countries” quarantine for 11 days in a hotel to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Currently, the stay costs approximately £2,285 per passenger, regardless of whether the person is double vaccinated. PGMBM claims [...]

US federal judge Robert Pratt temporarily blocked the state of Iowa on Monday from enforcing a state law that prohibits public schools from requiring masks. Consequently, school districts may continue to enforce their mask mandates. Earlier this month, the ACLU of Iowa and several parents filed suit in federal court to challenge Iowa’s public school [...]

The ACLU of Iowa and 11 parents of minor children across the state with disabilities filed a federal lawsuit on Friday challenging an Iowa law that bans school districts from imposing mask mandates in schools. In the last few days of the 2021 legislative session, the Iowa Legislature passed House File 847. House File 847 prevents [...]

The Alberta Human Rights Tribunal (ABHRT) dismissed complaints earlier this month from two men, Peter Szeles and James Beaudin, who refused to wear protective masks inside two separate businesses. The decision was made public on Monday. Szeles and Beaudin argued that their respective disabilities prevented them from wearing masks and that the businesses’ health and safety [...]

The US Department of Education announced Monday that its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had launched investigations in five states to determine whether statewide prohibitions on universal indoor masking are discriminatory against students with disabilities.  The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to mixed state responses to indoor masking and vaccination requirements. Some states such as [...]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order maintaining the current policy prohibiting the mandating of any COVID-19 vaccinations by any government entity in the state. In the order, Abbott said, “vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of [...]

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a class action lawsuit on Tuesday to challenge a school district’s authority to require that students and teachers wear masks. The defendants include Columbia Public Schools, the Board of Education for the School District of Columbia, and the Superintendent for Columbia Public Schools. Schmitt said, “We filed this suit [...]

The cyber security firm UpGuard released a report on Monday disclosing leaks of 38 million records from Microsoft’s PowerApps platform. The type of data exposed is highly personal in nature, including vaccination records, social security numbers for job applicants, COVID-19 contact tracing, and millions of email addresses and phone numbers. UpGuard attributed the leak to [...]

Calgary Sports and Entertainment (CSEC) announced Monday that, effective September 15, all future Calgary Flames, Stampeders, and Hitmen games will require every fan and employee that is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to have done so before entering their arenas. The announcement comes after the Edmonton Elks, one of the teams playing within the [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday requested the Supreme Court to uphold a moratorium on evictions in an effort to prevent millions of people from going homeless. The request cited the rising number of COVID-19 cases in areas across the country and the need to not place people in situations of increased risk. [...]