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 Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC), part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has identified new safety hazards from the expanding nanotechnology industry....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new recreational cannabis bill, which contains extensive provisions regarding the extent of an employer’s right to ban and otherwise discipline employees for...more
6/28/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recreational Use ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Decision from Illinois Court of Appeals holds that employer can be liable for workplace violence under Illinois Gender Violence Act....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 Illinois General Assembly has been working on a marijuana legalization bill this session. The Senate Bill would protect employer rights to ban marijuana and discipline employees for use....more
5/16/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
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: 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: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently released its Behind the Wheel at Work Newsletter with the “latest news from the NIOSH Center for Motor Vehicle Safety.”...more
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
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last month at the 2018 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress the speakers noted that “safety programs shouldn’t end when employees walk out the door and get into a vehicle to drive.” ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This week at the 2018 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress the speakers on this Executive Forum noted that “automation, wearables, augmented reality, virtual reality, drones, big data, machine learning,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has just issued a Standard Interpretation clarifying the Obama-era guidance that prohibited incentive programs and circumscribed post-incident drug testing; “Clarification of OSHA’s Position on...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers must evaluate their safety protections for pregnant women and engage in the interactive process with employees to find reasonable accommodations....more
9/17/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Reassignment ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
OSHA ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the East Coast, employers are looking at potentially huge liabilities, including employee injuries and fatalities, not to mention facility damage and rebuilding....more
9/11/2018
/ Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hurricane Season ,
Mandatory Evacuation ,
Natural Disasters ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Severe Weather ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety