Creating a strong safety culture in a business has many components. It requires the commitment and participation of the executive management team and all supervisory and non-supervisory employees throughout the organization....more
Sadly, tragic workplace violence incidents continue to plague the country. Although it is unlikely that OSHA, in the foreseeable future, will engage in rulemaking for a general industry workplace violence rule, it has already...more
Unpreventable employee misconduct is an affirmative defense commonly asserted to OSHA citations. To generally prevail on this defense, an employer must show that it 1) established work rules designed to prevent the violative...more
As we head into 2023, employers can expect to see more aggressive OSHA enforcement. BNA reported that the number of OSHA inspectors grew 19% in the fiscal year 2022. This was not surprising given the significant increase to...more
As a reminder to covered establishments, they must electronically submit their Form 300A on or before March 2, 2023, which can be done here. Covered establishments generally include 250 or more employees or 20-249 employees...more
As we head into the holiday gift giving season, it is a great time for businesses to think about employee safety and health and how they can strengthen their safety culture. Providing adequate supervisory and employee safety...more
The use of “leased” employees continues to skyrocket. Between 1992 and 2017, it is estimated that the number of people working for employee leasing firms increased 682%, from 341,884 to 2.7 million. There are a variety of...more
On March 30, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published new proposed rules regarding electronic recordkeeping requirements. Specifically, OSHA has sought to revise recordkeeping rules related to...more
Normally, OSHA citations are issued only against the corporations which employ workers, not the individuals who own or control them. Thus, corporate entities are generally liable for penalties under the Occupational Safety...more
Not surprisingly, particularly after a recent oral argument on January 7, 2022, the Supreme Court reinstated the national stay of OSHA’s ETS today. In doing so, the Court found that the petitioners were “likely to succeed on...more
1/14/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Lack of Authority ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
To state the obvious, the pandemic has resulted in completely unexpected change across the country in so many ways. OSHA’s visibility and role are probably one of the most significant changes to any federal agency. Prior to...more
12/16/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Construction Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Manufacturers ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Occupational Injury ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Workplace Safety
On November 18, 2021 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning private employers, regardless of size, from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations unless several exemptions are offered to employees. Effective...more
In a very strongly worded 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its earlier stay of OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) calling for employee vaccination or weekly testing...more
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) maintains an occupational safety and health plan that is approved and monitored by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (federal OSHA)....more
On October 27, 2021, OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) to initiate a comment period to gather diverse perspectives and expertise on heat stress issues such as heat stress thresholds, heat...more
On July 6, 2021, the Department of Labor for the state of New York published its model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (the Model Plan) under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO), which was...more
On July 6, 2021, NYS DOL published its Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO”), signed into law on May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo. In addition to the...more
Every business in the United States has been asking itself these past few days whether to drop any requirements it may have for visitors or employees to wear face masks since the CDC changed its COVID-19 guidance related to...more
5/20/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Retailers ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo of New York signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) into law. The HERO Act creates occupational safety and health standards in the private sector for all airborne...more
5/14/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo of New York signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (the “Act”) into law which amends the New York Labor Law. The Act creates occupational safety and health standards in the private...more
5/10/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
Both federal and state OSHA regulators have been regularly citing employers for failure to comply with their respective respiratory protection standards in connection with COVID-19 inspections and these citations have not...more
Under OSHA’s Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation, employers are required to affirmatively notify OSHA when an employee suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye...more
Prior to the Trump administration, OSHA commonly engaged in the practice of “public shaming.” In other words, if an OSHA investigation found a relatively serious safety violation, it would issue a press release identifying...more
In today's episode, Mike Schmidt is joined by his colleague and the Chair of Cozen O'Connor's OSHA Practice Group, John Ho, to talk about the new guidance (finally?) issued by OSHA on the Covid-19 pandemic. What did the...more
On January 29, 2021, OSHA issued revised COVID-19 updated guidance for employers following an executive order issued by President Biden directing the agency to do so. The guidance contains many suggestions that employers are...more
2/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety