Seyfarth Synopsis: The Cal/OSH Standards Board will vote this week on a proposed standard requiring employers to provide their employees and employee representatives access to the company’s Injury and Illness Prevention...more
1/14/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Construction Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Representatives ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and establishments with 20-249 employees that are classified in specific industries with...more
1/13/2020
/ Bodily Injury ,
Construction Workers ,
Deadlines ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Labor Regulations ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a standard interpretation cautioning employers on the use of headphones to listen to music on a construction site....more
1/6/2020
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Bodily Injury ,
Construction Project ,
Construction Site ,
Construction Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Excessive Noise ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Negligence ,
OSHA ,
Project Management ,
Safety Precautions ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its annual National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (National Census), concluding that the fatal work injury rate in 2018 remained at 3.5...more
1/2/2020
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Labor Standards Enforcement ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Safety Standards ,
Slip and Fall ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Wrongful Death
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill with bipartisan support that would require the Department of Labor to promulgate an OSHA standard specifically aimed at protecting healthcare and...more
12/12/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mass Shootings ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Social Services ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers face growing numbers of OSHA whistleblower complaints from aggrieved employees, largely alleging that they faced discipline and discharge on account of safety complaints. The Agency’s recent...more
12/6/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Government Investigations ,
Internal Reporting ,
Labor Regulations ,
Liability ,
OSHA ,
Retaliation ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an untimely Notice of Contest to an OSHA citation was permissible due to “excusable neglect” by the employer, on account of a single...more
11/22/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Citations ,
Contested Proceedings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Excusable Neglect ,
Late Notices ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Safety Standards ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA reminds employers of the hazards of distracted driving.
OSHA has recently released a “Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle Crashes.” ...more
10/16/2019
/ Car Accident ,
Distracted Driving ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Mobile Device Management ,
Negligence ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Tort ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA has put grain handling safety right up-front on its main homepage. OSHA wants you to “learn how to stay safe during grain handling operations.”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has amended its construction safety and health standards for fixed and portable ladders. The updated standard adds specified requirements for the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Smoke produced during surgical procedures is carcinogenic and can carry pathogens. Employers who fail to abate surgical smoke hazards may face liability from employee injuries and OSHA citations....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The growth of the gig economy has transformed the modern workforce and upended traditional models for developing a workplace safety culture and worker safety training. New and inexperienced workers...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Compliance with industry standard for combustible dust set for September 2020. Don’t delay, because OSHA is already citing employers using the not yet effective NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of...more
4/30/2019
/ Chemical Safety Board ,
Combustible Dust ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safety Standards ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Health care providers are increasingly called upon to address drug resistant medical cases such as Candida auris (C. auris), an emerging multidrug-resistant fungus that presents a serious health threat to...more
4/23/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL Inspector General recently issued an audit report that “OSHA Procedures for Issuing Guidance Were Not Adequate and Mostly Not Followed,” Report No. 02-19-001-10-105 (March 28, 2019)....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Since it codified the Multi-Employer Worksite Doctrine twenty years ago, OSHA has routinely cited multiple employers at the same worksite for the same violations. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cintas Corporation has recently become the first company to reach 100 sites with OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) (Program) Star certification....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In recent decisions—including Secretary of Labor v. Integra Health Management, Inc., No. 13-1124 (OSHRC Mar. 4, 2019)—the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has upheld violations of...more
3/27/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
General Duty Clause ,
Healthcare ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
Mass Shootings ,
OSHA ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: According to several states that have sued the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Federal Court, the Agency did not provide sufficient justification to rollback the electronic reporting rule...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Jordan Barab, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of OSHA, announced on his blog this week that he would “start full time work at the Education and Labor Committee in the House of Representatives” to provide...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fifth Circuit rules on Title VII liability concerning workplace violence in a healthcare setting involving third parties. Gardner v. CLC of Pascagoula, No. 17-60072 (5th Cir. February 6, 2019)....more
2/15/2019
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Duty Clause ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has just issued its final rule that removes the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and...more
Employers should be aware that OSHA and some state environmental agencies are now using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or “drones” in select inspections and investigations. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has recently released its National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, CPL 02-00-161 (October 1, 2018), which requires OSHA to open inspections against any contractor involved in trenching or...more
12/12/2018
/ Construction Project ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Excavation ,
Inspection Rights ,
Negligence ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Laws ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: We had blogged previously that OSHA appealed an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruling that severely limited OSHA’s Multi-Employer Worksite Doctrine and citation of a “controlling employer” general...more