The past year has brought sweeping changes to the world of work. Federal agencies finalized rules on minimum wage and overtime exemptions, union representation elections, pregnancy accommodations, OSHA inspections, and...more
On July 24, 2024, California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced that the Indoor Heat Illness Prevention regulation, which the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved on June 20, 2024, would take effect...more
7/29/2024
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Heat Exposure ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) ,
Severe Weather ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
On July 2, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released the text of its highly anticipated proposed standard that, if finalized, would create the first federal standard aimed at protecting workers...more
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final rule clarifying that employees may designate a non-employee third party as their representative during an OSHA inspection.
...more
4/1/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Final Rules ,
OSHA ,
Registered Representatives ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The regular monthly meeting of the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on March 21, 2024 was anything but regular. The agenda had included voting on a proposed indoor heat illness prevention standard that has been under development for...more
On March 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it is updating its COVID-19 guidance and is no longer recommending that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for five days. The...more
On October 31, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that the agencies have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “to strengthen the...more
On September 30, 2023, California enacted SB 553, the first general industry workplace violence prevention safety requirements in the United States that will be applicable to nearly all California employers, with very few...more
In a recently published interpretation letter, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opined that an employee’s gunshot injury—sustained when a motorist collided with three other cars, shot the...more
On August 24, 2023, as part of its ongoing heat illness prevention rulemaking effort, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released various options for inclusion in a proposed rule to address heat injury...more
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a proposed rule that would resurrect an Obama-era policy that allowed employees to designate third-party representatives to accompany...more
8/30/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Labor Reform ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safety Inspections ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
On July 21, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule in the Federal Register amending its regulation on Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The final rule...more
On March 1, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formally convened the Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel regarding a possible Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social...more
3/16/2023
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hostile Environment ,
Labor Reform ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SBREFA ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a determination by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that conditions at a meatpacking plant did not...more
On February 3, 2023, California’s Office of Administrative Law approved Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Non-Emergency Regulation (NER). The NER is now the operative COVID-19 regulation for most California employers. Cal/OSHA also...more
2/7/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Regulations ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Workplace Safety
On December 12, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed a workplace safety bill known as “Carlos’ Law.” This bill, originally introduced in 2017 and named for an individual who died on a construction worksite in 2015,...more
During a meeting of the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on November 17, 2022, Cal/OSHA’s Chief Deputy for Health and Research Standards unequivocally stated that no further modifications will be made to the proposed non-emergency...more
11/22/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Workplace Safety
On October 13, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an order effective October 14, 2022, updating the definition of close contact under the Third Revised COVID Emergency Temporary Standard and...more
California Assembly Bill (AB) 2693, signed into law on September 29, 2022, made changes to COVID-19 notification requirements by amending California Labor Code section 6409.6 (Duties of employer when notified of potential...more
At its meeting on September 15, 2022, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board held a public hearing on a proposed non-emergency COVID-19 standard. The hearing and subsequent Board discussion during the meeting demonstrated that there...more
9/19/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Hearing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
State OSHA Laws ,
Workplace Safety
On September 15, 2022, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA or “the Division”) published Guidance on Protecting Workers from Monkeypox (MPX). The guidance applies to workplaces covered by the...more
I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more
On August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new Summary of Guidance for Minimizing the Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Persons, Communities, and Health Care Systems. Observing that increasing...more
The latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has barely been contained, yet employers are now being hit with employee inquiries related to monkeypox. As this virus spreads, states and localities are declaring emergencies while...more
On June 8, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an Order (June 8th Order) defining “Close Contact” and “Infectious Period” for purposes of the CDPH’s Isolation and Quarantine Guidance issued on April...more
6/17/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
CDPH ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Workplace Safety