In September 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a directive expanding the scope of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). SVEP singles out employers that OSHA concludes have...more
Employers subject to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections commonly believe that the investigators need to find something to cite to justify the time and resources spent on the investigation....more
In recent months, a number of federal labor and employment agencies have announced new initiatives intended to coordinate and cross-refer enforcement actions. This trend continued last week when the National Labor Relations...more
Beginning January 1, employers in certain industries will need to begin electronic filing of their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report. The requirement applies...more
With the end of warmer weather across much of the U.S., the number of OSHA complaints involving heat exposure will decrease until next year. While OSHA continues to report that it is working on a comprehensive heat stress...more
In July, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a National Emphasis Program (NEP) focusing on warehouse and distribution facilities. A NEP is an enforcement initiative put into place when OSHA...more
Last month, the owner of a Colorado construction company pled guilty to criminal manslaughter charges following the death of an employee as the result of a trench collapse. According to the federal Occupational Safety and...more
Last week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued proposed regulations that would allow a wide range of third-party representatives to accompany OSHA investigators during workplace investigations....more
Under constitutional law, the nondelegation doctrine prevents Congress from adopting laws that give administrative agencies overly broad discretion to adopt regulations that usurp its legislative authority. Recently, the...more
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (DLI) and Amazon are engaged in a high-stakes dispute over the agency’s ability to require changes at warehouse operations intended to reduce what the state...more
It may seem obvious that for personal protective equipment to work, it must be properly fitted for the individual wearing it. However, last week the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of...more
With summer in full swing, employers should remain aware of employee safety risks associated with heat stress. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues work on a heat exposure safety standard after...more
Those of us who deal with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have watched with interest the agency’s ongoing enforcement efforts against the Dollar General retail chain. Since 2017, OSHA has assessed...more
Workers’ Compensation law is a double-edged sword. While employers cannot avoid Comp liability based on the employee’s negligent behavior, the injured employee cannot sue the employer outside of the Comp system for damages...more
In a recent EmployNews article, we discussed the recent publicity over child labor violations across the U.S., frequently involving immigrant minors. Earlier this month, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division...more
As spring weather begins in many parts of the U.S., higher temperatures are just around the corner. Now is a good time for employers to review their response to situations involving employee exposure to high temperatures....more
In recent years, we have written extensively about the huge increases in fines and other penalties assessed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These fines are multiplied in situations where...more
Section 662(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) allows employees to file suit against employers seeking compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) safety standards in urgent...more
As more states legalize the use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, employers in states such as North Carolina and South Carolina that have not relaxed their cannabis laws are asking under what circumstances...more
In recent months, EmployNews has reported on the dramatic increase in penalties assessed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in situations where the agency believes that employers are not...more
If any business doubts that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has changed its practices with regard to monetary citations, a recent fine involving an Ohio vinyl tile manufacturer should...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its efforts to scrutinize employers considered to have ignored or minimized safety issues discovered during prior inspections. OSHA previously...more
It may seem like a lifetime ago, but employers may recall that in late 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew its health care emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19,...more
Earlier this month, the Biden administration declared a national health emergency based on the spread of the monkeypox virus. Employers that have endured the COVID-19 emergency may be asking whether there are any steps...more
In July, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced enhanced enforcement initiatives to address a significant increase in employee fatalities caused by trench collapses. The new initiative is...more