Andrea Hsu

2021 saw continuing disruption to the labor market and a shift in the balance of power between workers and their bosses. Employers desperate to hire have to pay more to get the workforce they need.

"My ears are my life," says composer, pianist and teaching artist Beata Moon, who experienced ear ringing after her first vaccine dose. Around the same time, she also tested positive for COVID-19.

After experiencing tinnitus following her first COVID vaccine dose, musician Beata Moon decided against a second dose. Now she's facing the consequences of not being fully vaccinated in New York City.

New business applications are on track to top 5 million, smashing the record set in 2020. Behind some of them are new entrepreneurs who have decided this is the moment to chase their dreams.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said the costs of delaying implementation of the vaccine rule would be high. Employers have until Feb. 9 to comply with the testing requirement.

UPS needed to hire 100,000 seasonal workers this fall for the holiday season. It's nearly reached its goal, thanks in part to a new application process that sends out offers in 30 minutes or less.

By the end of the month, workers in New York City must be vaccinated against COVID-19, but nationwide, federal vaccine rules are on hold due to numerous legal challenges.

Citing the high costs associated with Covid illnesses, a growing number of employers are telling employees who decline to be vaccinated to pay up.

In a process resembling a Powerball drawing, ping pong balls with the names of a dozen federal appeals courts were placed into a wooden raffle drum on Tuesday before a winner was drawn.

Lawsuits against the Biden administration's vaccine-or-test requirement for private employers have been filed in almost every federal appeals court. One court will be randomly chosen to hear the case.

A group of United employees had asked the court for a preliminary injunction to block United's policy of putting workers with religious or medical exemptions on unpaid leave.

The Biden administration says it will defend its rule requiring some 84 million workers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. More than two dozen states have sued to stop it.

The supply chain is a mess, at virtually every step of the way. From the docks to the warehouses, a lack of space is causing slowdowns, and consumers will be the ones to pay the price.

Companies with at least 100 employees must ensure their workers get a COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing. Some 17 million health care workers face a vaccine mandate with no testing option.

Employers are firing workers for refusing to comply with vaccine mandates. They represent only a tiny fraction of overall employees, not even 1% in some workplaces. But it can add up to thousands.

In an Instagram video, college football and basketball reporter Allison Williams said, "I cannot put a paycheck over principle." She cited medical reasons for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Nurses at Kaiser Permanente and cereal workers at Kellogg are among those protesting their companies' proposals for a two-tier wage system under which new hires would earn less for the same work.

In industries ranging from health care to manufacturing to entertainment, workers across the country are willing to strike for better wages and working conditions.

Workplaces with vaccine mandates are seeing vaccination rates of 90% or higher. A complex mix of factors, including job security, is driving most workers to get the shots.

OSHA, the small, chronically understaffed federal agency in charge of workplace safety, now faces a big challenge: enforcing a federal vaccine rule covering 80 million workers.