The newly reported 2016 fatalities occurred under the Obama Administration and their approach of often-punitive Enforcement efforts, so these numbers have nothing to do with the Trump Administration’s actions or lack thereof....more
I am not encouraging workplace violence, even for individuals who may deserve a good old fashioned whooping. However, it is worth noting that one of the few Hollywood celebrities to have largely survived the onslaught of...more
Many companies open certain meetings with a “Safety Minute.” Often, the home office develops weekly or daily Safety Minutes for crews to use at pre-work meetings. Ideally, the Company’s leadership requires other meetings to...more
This list of frequently asked questions was originally prepared by the law firm of Fisher Phillips in 2005, in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. It has been updated several times over the course of the past 12...more
9/8/2017
/ COBRA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Donations ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Military Leave ,
Natural Disasters ,
Plant Closures ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Despite the constant news coverage, Americans are inevitably surprised by the violence of hurricanes … and even more by the damages inflicted by storm surges and the extraordinary amounts of rain once the hurricane high winds...more
8/29/2017
/ Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEMA ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Season ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Guidance ,
NOAA ,
OSHA ,
Recovery Plans ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The Eclipse, Workers Safety and Triffids.
Tomorrow is the much-awaited Eclipse and employers are beginning to worry that they may not have taken all appropriate steps to protect their employees. Shockingly, OSHA does not...more
The President’s Tweeting dominated our discussions throughout June, with many people asking why does he Tweet? Was it a crafted strategy? A reasonable response to a biased media? A lack of Judgment? Emotional Outbursts?...more
No one thought that on June 22, we would still not know the Trump administration's enforcement position on the recordkeeping anti-retaliation requirements, including about automatic post-accident drug testing, the Silica...more
6/24/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Safety Violations ,
Silica ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
If one listens to various Democrat and labor talking heads, you would think that Congress has rolled back 40 years of worker protections by passing a resolution killing the new OSHA rule, which permitted OSHA to cite...more
After every public shooting, we discuss how to prevent and better respond to the next active shooter, but each subsequent shooting event suggests we are not acting upon knowledge gained....more
We were stunned to see a squared away State OSHA plan issue a million dollar OSHA citation earlier this month.
We should, therefore take note, when that state’s Governor actually spoke at the state’s “Governor’s Safety...more
Heat is Creating More Legal Problems this Summer.
It has been close to 100° in many southern states and even worse in the West. The Union of Concerned Scientists has warned of a “dangerous heat wave and steps to take....more
Today, May 10, OSHA announced that Agency head David Michaels will be conducting a morning press briefing on Tuesday, May 11 covering an undisclosed workplace safety topic, which likely means that OSHA is going to announce...more
We just completed the second of two Fisher & Phillips webinars including panelists and contributors who were active and former Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, and other law enforcement professionals. We...more
It may be more entertaining to describe heated disagreement between employers, OSHA and unions, but areas of tacit agreement are more significant, at least when it comes to guaranteeing worker safety....more
I recently met with an international company which has armed security responders at some facilities, guards at others, and nothing at public establishments among its diverse operations. We talked about protecting lone...more
Never having to tell a wife or child that their loved one was killed at your worksite is reason enough to maintain a safe workplace, but businesspeople would be foolish not to also consider the legal costs of unsafe work...more
Employers quite rightly complain about the sheer number, intrusiveness and plain weirdness of California employment laws. However, Cal-OSHA and its regulatory scheme have not been that different from Federal-OSHA regulation....more
The federal government has taken steps to create additional safety compliance obligations for hospitality employers that will make it more likely you’ll be on the receiving end of an inspection in the near future. So what...more
Employers woke up to a surprise on November 3. That’s when we learned that the Federal Budget Agreement, which was quickly worked out behind closed doors and signed the day before, includes surprise provisions authorizing the...more
11/5/2015
/ Consumer Price Index ,
Corporate Executives ,
Federal Budget ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Manufacturers ,
New Legislation ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Retailers ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Safety
With multiple tracks yesterday, I can only write about a few sessions. I’ll focus on topics related to OSHA’s priorities and plans as discussed in the sessions dealing with Federal and State OSHA Plan Updates and “OSHA is...more