President Trump was carried to the White House on promises (or threats) of rolling back government regulations. At the CPAC conference this year, Pres. Trump’s Sr. Policy Advisor, Steve Bannon, framed Pres. Trump’s agenda...more
President Trump was carried to the White House on promises (or threats) of rolling back government regulations. At the CPAC conference this year, Pres. Trump’s Sr. Policy Advisor, Steve Bannon, framed much of Trump’s agenda...more
Employers’ perceptions about their legal responsibilities for certain workers is not always reality. Although an employer may classify workers as temporary workers or independent contractors, that does not mean the...more
As the private sector continues to see a decline in labor union membership among employees, labor unions are struggling to remain relevant and recruit new, dues-paying members. Traditionally, when a labor union begins an...more
In the final year of the Obama Administration, OSHA published a controversial amendment to its Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Rule known as the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” Rule. As published last...more
OSHA’s controversial new Electronic Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Anti-Retaliation Rule has thus far survived a barrage of negative stakeholder comments during the rulemaking, multiple enforcement deferrals, and a...more
Effective April 1, 2017, a new California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Standards Board”) regulation at Title 8, Section 3342 requires certain employers in the health care industry to develop and implement...more
The Trump Administration submitted a blueprint budget for 2018 to Congress proposing $2.5 Billion in cuts to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) operating budget. The President’s proposed budget expressly calls for...more
OSHA initiated a “Standards Improvement Project” in 1995 in response to a memorandum from Pres. Clinton in order to make non-controversial, consensus changes to requirements in OSHA standards that are confusing, outdated,...more
On January 17, 2017, OSHA’s new Walking-Working Surfaces Rule took effect, updating OSHA regulations that have been in place for nearly a half century. OSHA’s new rule, commonly referred to as the “Slips, Trips and Falls”...more
This is your annual reminder about the important annual February 1st deadline to prepare, certify and post your OSHA 300A Annual Summary of workplace injuries and illnesses, for all U.S. employers, except those with ten or...more
The ball has dropped, the confetti has been swept out of Times Square, and 2016 (and the Obama Administration) is in the books. It is time to look back at the year and take stock of what we learned from and about OSHA over...more
OSHA has long enforced sanitation and accessibility standards for restrooms for workers – an idea that generally makes sense viewed as a health concern. In the last few years, however, new policies at the state and federal...more
On November 28, 2016, the federal district court Judge in the Northern District of Texas hearing Industry’s legal challenge to the anti-retaliation portions of OSHA’s new electronic recordkeeping rule (i.e., limits on injury...more
Although not typically thought of as a hotbed of OSHA/Employment law activity, access to bathrooms by both employees, as well as members of the public, has become a high profile issue of late. OSHA has always required...more
11/30/2016
/ Access to Employer Facilities ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
OSHA ,
Right of Access ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Webinars
OSHA’s new electronic injury recordkeeping rule includes anti-retaliation provisions that create new employer obligations and prohibitions related to internal employee injury reporting procedures, and expands OSHA’s...more
Texas District Court Enjoins the Administration from Enforcing the Federal Government Contractor “Blacklisting” Provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s New Final “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Rule.
On...more
11/8/2016
/ Blacklist ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
OSHA ,
Pay Transparency ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements
What has evolved (or devolved) into perhaps the most controversial election in American history, could translate in a couple of months into a whirlwind for labor and workplace safety policy. Stark differences between the...more
OSHA compliance issues have been long ignored in the due diligence process for mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. With OSHA’s new focus on follow-up inspections and Repeat citations, and expanding the concept of...more
10/24/2016
/ Abatement ,
Citations ,
Compliance ,
Divestiture ,
Due Diligence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Successor Liability ,
Webinars
OSHA has once again delayed enforcement of the controversial anti-retaliation provisions of its new electronic injury and illness recordkeeping rule. OSHA issued its second delay of the effective date of enforcement of this...more
With the harvest upon us in California wine country, now is a great time to remind wineries and vineyards operating within the Golden Gate of those Cal/OSHA standards most often cited against this industry. The California...more
In just a couple of weeks, we will have the opportunity to enter the voting booth, and cast a ballot to elect the next President of the United States. The platforms and proposed polices of the candidates are more divergent...more
Employers must beware as the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) cracks down on what it perceives as rampant misclassifying employees as contractors and shirking other responsibilities, such as safety training, because a worker...more
OSHA’s recent Injury and Illness Recordkeeping reform has created quite a stir for employers. As we discussed in an earlier article about the new Recordkeeping rule, OSHA now requires employers to electronically submit to...more
8/30/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Drug Testing ,
Electronic Filing ,
Executive Compensation ,
Final Rules ,
Incentives ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
You just received a set of OSHA citations in the mail. What now? Should we accept the citations and pay the penalty? Should we participate in an Informal Settlement Conference with the OSHA Area Office? Should we contest...more
8/24/2016
/ Citations ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Labor Law Violations ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Investigations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death