A recent federal appeals court ruling illustrates the risks of “single-employer” liability for OSHA citations for common business arrangements today. These involve separate companies that perform different functions but share...more
This is a continuation of the eleventh installment in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 and the Occupational Safety and...more
On October 25, 2021, a customer named Jacob Bergquist, with a history of violating the Boise Towne Square Mall’s firearms ban, opened fire at the mall. The shooting in the Idaho mall led to the deaths of a Professional...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), like many federal agencies, has finite resources for carrying out its essential functions. It simply isn’t feasible, nor efficient or effective, for OSHA regulators to...more
This is the tenth installment in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 and the Occupational Safety and Health...more
Tropical Storm Helene is projected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast as a major hurricane later this week, and evacuations are already underway in parts of the state. Employers are likely to face inevitable workplace safety risks...more
This is the eighth installment in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 and the Occupational Safety and Health...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is preparing to release a proposed standard on workplace violence prevention in healthcare settings in December 2024....more
Over the past several years, employers have seen a significant uptick in retaliation claims filed by employees and investigated by federal agencies. For example, in 2010, only approx. 30% of all charges filed with the EEOC...more
Although this is the OSHA webinar series, in this webinar, we’ll be analyzing the intersection of EPA’s new Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) chemical exposure limits and OSHA enforcement of workplace chemical exposure....more
Workplace violence has been a focus for both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) for several years, as it continues to be one of the leading...more
This series of articles is intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and how both influence...more
Welcome to this edition of the FP Snapshot on workplace safety, where we take a quick snapshot look at a recent significant workplace law development that affects your safety and health programs. This edition is devoted to...more
When Fisher Phillips attorneys recently secured a key victory over a state OSHA plan that was improperly trying to create a quota system to encourage investigators to issue citations and assess penalties, it opened the door...more
On September 9, 2015, then U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates issued a memo, “Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing,” that sent shivers down the spines of those in the workplace safety community....more
Between the host employer and the staffing agency, who is responsible for the health and safety training of temporary workers? The staffing agency and the host employer jointly employ temporary workers and, therefore, they...more
As expected, state and local mask requirements continue to be lifted following the CDC’s loosening of its masking recommendations last month. As of yesterday, only 10 states require masks – and many of those requirements...more
On December 17, 2021, a divided panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the federal government’s emergency motion to dissolve the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Occupational...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 vaccination, testing and facial coverings applies to “all employers with a total of 100 or more employees” during...more
New Rule Issued - Yesterday, November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), requiring, except as noted below, all employers with 100 or more...more
Employers that bar staff from communicating with the media should take another look at those prohibitions, following a recent federal appellate decision finding such a policy unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act...more
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has implications for multiple workplace concerns, including health and safety, leaves of absence, discrimination, and travel. Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been...more
The Department of Labor just published its increases to the maximum civil penalties that can be assessed against employers by federal agencies, and it includes some moderate increases in the area of workplace safety....more
We attended the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting last week in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Present are representatives from the OSH Review Commission, the MSH Review Commission, and the Solicitor’s Office. ...more
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), motor vehicle crashes cost employers $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage, and lost productivity. Motor vehicle crashes...more