Last week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced enhanced and expanded efforts to address heat-related illnesses in the workplace. The new initiative was prompted by excessive heat this summer in...more
A few days following President Joe Biden’s announcement of the COVID-19 vaccination or testing mandate for employers with 100 or more employees, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration held a webinar to...more
In recent months, we have reported extensively on the various carrot-and-stick approaches taken by employers to try to incentivize employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. In recent weeks, we have seen employers frustrated over...more
Last Friday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updated guidance for employers on best practices for avoiding workplace spread of the COVID-19 virus. It incorporates revised CDC guidelines...more
Last month, a Colorado business owner was sentenced to 10 months in prison following the death of one of his workers in a trenching accident. The deceased employee had not been trained in appropriate trenching techniques, and...more
A week ago, we published an alert explaining the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s issuance of a press release announcing that the state has decided to issue a general infectious disease standard...more
On Tuesday, the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation announced its intent to develop a general OSHA standard intended to address workplace hazards from all infectious diseases in the workplace. The...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency temporary safety standard (ETS) for healthcare employers took effect July 6. Affected employers have 30 days to come into compliance with the new rule....more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard for the health care industry takes effect July 6. However, states that enforce their own OSHA programs have different...more
In addition to its new COVID-19 emergency temporary standard for health care employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a companion revision to its general guidance on mitigating and preventing the...more
Yesterday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring COVID-19 exposure control practices for the healthcare industry. OSHA originally considered a broader...more
Earlier this week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an update to its COVID-19 frequently asked questions to clarify that, at least for now, employers will not be required to record adverse...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration appears to be losing interest in issuing temporary emergency regulations related to COVID-19 safety practices. Changing science and diminishing infection rates due to...more
As more Americans receive COVID-19 vaccinations, a number of our clients have asked whether employees who provide proof of such vaccination can be excused from workplace COVID-19 control measures such as mask wearing....more
On March 12, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a COVID-19 National Emphasis Program focusing enforcement efforts on employers with high frequencies of close employee contact with other...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General issued a report criticizing the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report was prompted by...more
With all the recent discussion over the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration planning to issue a temporary COVID-19 safety standard, employers may not recall that the agency has had a more general infectious...more
In a recent interview, the former head of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration indicated his belief that many employers are not taking adequate measures to address the real risks for COVID-19 in the...more
Under an executive order issued in the first days of the Biden administration, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been tasked with deciding whether a nationwide workplace COVID-19 infection...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s hazard communication regulations require employers to take measures to minimize employee exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals. Among other obligations, the...more
Some employers are considering mandating COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment. While such policies are generally legal (with some religious and disability accommodations included), they could result in claims...more
In its first indication of upcoming policy changes under the new administration, last week the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updates to its COVID-19 infection prevention guidance. Among other...more
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order instructing the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue revised workplace safety guidance intended to increase protections for...more
On December 16, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced changes to its special emphasis inspection program that directs enforcement resources towards employers with the highest rates of workplace...more
A number of employers have encountered resistance to mask wearing mandates put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, employees assert that they have a medical condition that prevents them from being...more