One company’s bill for testing Hoosiers for COVID-19: $139.6 million (and counting)
The state of Indiana has paid an outside vendor $139.6 million to perform more than a half-million COVID-19 tests during the pandemic.
coronavirus
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More Indiana law firms returning to in-person work
Indiana law firms are either having attorneys and staff come back to office or making plans for a return in a few months. The firms contacted by The Indiana Lawyer are encouraging rather than requiring their employees to get vaccinated, and they have found most of their workforces have been inoculated.
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The great return: Law firms, lawyers rethink how they work as country emerges from pandemic
Should law firms require their attorneys and staff to return to in-person work? Is a hybrid schedule feasible? Firm leaders in Indiana are grappling with these questions.
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Moving on: Law firms follow through with office renovations despite new hybrid schedules
As employees trickle back into offices that have stood nearly skeletal for more than a year, many are left to wonder what work will look like in a post-pandemic society. Meanwhile, several Indiana law firms have followed through with plans to transition into new buildings — plans already set in motion before COVID-19 was a common term.
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Making history: Pratt first African American chief judge of Southern District
New Southern District of Indiana Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt Pratt is focused on steps to reopen courthouses to the public as the country hopes to be quelling the COVID-19 virus and advocating in Congress for a new judgeship to help handle the court’s excessive caseload.
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Articles
Legal aid group files lawsuit to keep enhanced jobless benefits flowing
Calling on Gov. Eric Holcomb to “follow the law,” Indiana Legal Services has filed a lawsuit asserting the decision to end the extended unemployment benefits violates a state statute that requires the state to procure all available federal unemployment compensation for Hoosiers.
Indiana rushes to spend virus relief aid on new jobs program
Indiana legislators scrambled in the final days of their session to make decisions on spending the state’s $3 billion share of the $350 billion in federal coronavirus relief money approved this year for state and local governments.
COVID restrictions didn’t lead to violation of public trial in robbery case, COA rules
A man who stole a Jeep after threatening the vehicle’s owner with a hatchet did not have his right to a public trial violated due to restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
Indiana health officials closing state’s virus testing sites
The Indiana Department of Health will close state-sponsored coronavirus testing programs at the end of the month, delegating future tests to pharmacies, community clinics and local health departments, officials announced Thursday.
US increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vax goal
For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is unlikely to meet his target to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
IndyBar: One Good Thing from the Past Year: We Slowed Down
A lot has changed in both our professional and personal lives since March of 2020, but not all of them have been bad.
DTCI: Zoom is here to stay post-pandemic, so make the most of it
The last year has taught most of us that Zoom calls and videoconferencing are here to stay and that there are both positive and negative aspects to conducting business this way. James Hehner offers some suggestions that he has found helpful in preventing viewer fatigue and increasing the usefulness of videoconferencing.
City-County Council votes to ditch mask mandate for vaccinated residents
Indianapolis’ mask mandate will end Tuesday for fully vaccinated residents as part of the City-County Council’s ratification of a new public health order Monday evening.
Indiana reports lowest daily case count in nearly a year
The Indiana State Department of Health on Monday reported 275 new COVID-19 cases, the fewest number of new cases reported in the daily report since 264 on June 17, 2020.
Hearing set on whether Indiana governor may sue Legislature
A judge will hear arguments later this month over whether Indiana’s governor can go ahead with a lawsuit challenging the power state legislators have given themselves to intervene during public emergencies.
California to pay $2M church legal fees over virus closures
The state of California has agreed not to impose greater coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings than it does on retail establishments in a pair of settlements that provide more than $2 million in fees to lawyers who challenged the rules as a violation of religious freedom.
Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’
President Joe Biden is looking for that extra something — anything — that will get people to roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 shots when the promise of a life-saving vaccine by itself hasn’t been enough.
Indiana University giving students option on COVID-19 vaccine proof
IU said that under the revised requirement students and employees would be able to attest to their vaccination without having to provide immunization documentation.
Holcomb says he won’t block IU vaccine requirement
Indiana’s governor says he won’t prevent Indiana University from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all students and employees, despite many state officials arguing against that policy.
Purdue plans vaccine cash drawing as IU faces policy critics
While Indiana University faces political backlash over its plans to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all students and employees, Purdue University is offering a chance at winning a full year’s tuition for students who get the shots.
Indiana University reviewing vaccine mandate amid criticism
A day after the state attorney general issued a non-binding opinion that the policy was illegal, IU said it “will further consider our process for verifying the requirement.”
Indiana reports 19 more COVID-19 deaths, 674 new cases
The state said 2.47 million Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 2.62 million had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccination.
Governor wants Indiana state employees in offices in July
Staffers for many state agencies have been working remotely, but Gov. Eric Holcomb said in an email to employees that “it is not the optimal way for us to serve Hoosiers.”
AG Todd Rokita attacks IU’s COVID-19 vaccine order
The attorney general says the university’s decision to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations from all students and employees is illegal under a new state law banning state or local governments from issuing or requiring vaccine passports.