OSHA just issued a heap of new proposed rules and took other agency actions as part of broader deregulatory efforts at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) – which are being called one of the most ambitious federal red tape...more
7/16/2025
/ Comment Period ,
Construction Workers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Farm Workers ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The ending of the national COVID-19 public health emergency means something more for Colorado employers: it triggers the end of the extra Public Health Emergency Sick Leave you have been providing your employees since January...more
The COVID-19 national and public health emergencies officially end today with the expirations of two dual emergency declarations – so what should employers expect? One of the two declarations is the public health emergency...more
All employers in Colorado have been required to provide public health emergency (PHE) leave since January 1, 2021 – and your obligation to do so will continue through at least this summer due to a recent extension. Under...more
The Supreme Court blocked OSHA from enforcing the vaccine mandate-or-test ETS and the agency responded Tuesday by shelving the emergency rule altogether. In some ways, these two developments mean that the pathway for...more
The Supreme Court just blocked OSHA’s vaccine ETS from being enforced for the foreseeable future, meaning your compliance to-do list has gotten significantly shorter – but it has by no means disappeared. While today’s 6 to 3...more
As of January 1, 2022, all Colorado employers – regardless of size – are subject to traditional paid sick leave requirements thanks to the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act. Additionally, public health emergency leave is...more
In one of the more shocking developments in a year full of surprises, a federal appeals court breathed new life into the Biden administration’s mandate-or-test emergency vaccine rule with a stunning Friday afternoon decision....more
Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
Both the State of Colorado and the City of Denver have recently issued mandatory vaccine policies for certain segments of worker populations – and your organization may be soon required to enforce such a mandate. While the...more
9/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
Private Schools ,
Public Health ,
Public Schools ,
State Contractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Now that most states, the CDC, and OSHA have (or may soon) lift mask mandates for vaccinated workers, what is an employer to do about revealing an employee’s vaccination status? Under any relaxed masking guidance applicable...more
The announcement yesterday from the CDC that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any non-healthcare setting was a welcome relief for all Americans and a hopeful sign that we have...more
Now that the country is on course to see all adult Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in a matter of days, and an increasing number of employees are returning to the workplace, vaccination status is likely to be an...more
The new administration wasted no time in announcing its plan for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing a roadmap on January 21 on how it plans to address the crisis. The plan includes 12 initial executive actions, many of...more
1/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Right before the Christmas holiday, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) released new guidance requiring that all employers supply up to an additional 80 hours of Public Health Emergency Paid Sick Leave to...more
When the pandemic first began, most employees were ready to pitch in and do their part to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. They adapted to remote working while attending to their children. Others understood they were...more
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board just adopted an emergency standard related to COVID-19 prevention in the workplace, imposing some significant requirements on California employers. Most notably, the new rule finalized yesterday...more
11/20/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Rules ,
Notification Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Quarantine ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Distancing ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
Colorado now joins the growing number of states requiring most employers to provide paid sick leave – not only extending COVID-19-related sick leave protections to take effect immediately, but also creating a traditional paid...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a Guidance on Returning to Work document that describes strategies and recommends steps employers should take during all phases of reopening. Most of OSHA’s...more
6/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sick Employees ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
The Colorado Department of Public Health issued Public Health Order 20-28 to govern the next phase of Colorado’s reopening, labeled “Safer at Home.” Every business in Colorado planning to reopen over the next few weeks in...more
Colorado Governor Jared Polis just issued a new executive order: “Ordering Workers in Critical Businesses and Critical Government Functions to Wear Non-Medical Face Coverings.” The order requires the Colorado Department of...more
Many Colorado employers will need to immediately provide paid sick leave to certain workers as a response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. As part of Governor Jared Polis’s March 10 State of Disaster Emergency...more