Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has partially reopened the record on the rulemaking for the permanent healthcare COVID-19 standard, known as the rule on “Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare...more
3/30/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Nurses ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Writ of Mandamus
With its new inspection initiative, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is taking steps to ensure certain healthcare employers continue to protect workers against COVID-19, even as falling case numbers...more
On April 4, 2022, a merits panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on a petition seeking to force OSHA to issue a permanent standard for healthcare occupational exposure to COVID-19 and to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled expedited arguments on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s decision to lift the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has lifted the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccination and testing for...more
On December 14, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) added a new section, COVID-19 and the Definition of “Disability” Under the ADA/Rehabilitation Act, to its COVID-19 guidance. The updated guidance...more
Less than two months after receiving direction from President Joe Biden, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) covering employers with at least 100...more
11/4/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Joe Biden ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Many states have Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-approved workplace safety and health programs (OSHA State Plans) and enjoy enforcement autonomy over workplace safety and health in those states,...more
On September 9, 2021, the White House issued Path Out of the Pandemic: President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan (the Plan). The Plan outlines a six-pronged approach, portions of which will impose new obligations on employers...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its COVID-19 guidance for non-healthcare employers, Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace, on August...more
On July 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance explaining that “long COVID” can be a disability under Titles II and III of the Americans with...more
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (UFCW), and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) have filed a petition for review of OSHA’s recent...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19 (Response Plan) was issued on the same day it announced its National Emphasis Program (NEP)...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19 (Response Plan) to regional administrator and state plan designees on March 12, 2021. Although not...more
4/2/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
General Duty Clause ,
Hospitals ,
Inspections ,
Masks ,
NEP ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Workplace Safety
The country begins the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic with optimism because of three Emergency Use Authorization vaccines and President Joe Biden’s direction that all states make all adults eligible for vaccination by...more
3/24/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Caregivers ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
General Duty Clause ,
GINA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
OSHA ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Criticizing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enforcement efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (OIG) pushes for a COVID-19, virus-specific...more
3/5/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Inspections ,
Inspector General ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Safety Standards ,
Workplace Safety
Long-term care facilities have been hit hard by COVID-19. As we approach the one-year anniversary of this national emergency, many facilities have grown accustomed to the additional reporting and scrutiny. However, this...more
According to a new Quest Diagnostics study, employers saw the highest rate of positive workforce drug test results since 2003. As expected, marijuana was the most detected drug, including in states where marijuana remains...more