We encourage larger companies to establish a committee to meet every six to twelve months to engage in “What-if” risk planning. If we have learned anything this year, it’s that businesses face more unexpected risk than ever...more
Every time a natural disaster hits, we learn of at least one person who tragically died of a heart attack when placed in a stressful or unusual situation. Sadly, we hear little about the hundreds of thousands of other deaths...more
10/9/2017
/ Catastrophic Events ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Good Samaritans ,
Heart Attacks ,
Medical Devices ,
OSHA ,
Safety Training ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury
Despite the constant news coverage, Americans are inevitably surprised by the violence of hurricanes … and even more by the damages inflicted by storm surges and the extraordinary amounts of rain once the hurricane high winds...more
8/29/2017
/ Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEMA ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Season ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Guidance ,
NOAA ,
OSHA ,
Recovery Plans ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
No one thought that on June 22, we would still not know the Trump administration's enforcement position on the recordkeeping anti-retaliation requirements, including about automatic post-accident drug testing, the Silica...more
6/24/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Safety Violations ,
Silica ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
We were stunned to see a squared away State OSHA plan issue a million dollar OSHA citation earlier this month.
We should, therefore take note, when that state’s Governor actually spoke at the state’s “Governor’s Safety...more
While most employers were preparing for the long holiday weekend, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announced a series of civil penalty increases that will impact the nation’s employers in the very near future. On June 30,...more
7/6/2016
/ Child Labor ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
OSHA ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
We know that you’re tired of hearing about major new federal Employment law changes but an unusually important announcement came out yesterday. OSHA has released details on the penalty increases effective August 1, 2016, but...more
Even when I disagree with an OSHA safety initiative, I’ll concede that some good comes out of it, even if it is only to remind employers of the cost of neglecting safety. However, a Whistleblower Severe Violators Enforcement...more
The Good -
1. From an employer’s perspective it could have been worse. OSHA apparently recognized the logistical challenges of defining “the Enterprise” to include every affiliate or related company, but OSHA will...more
Employers quite rightly complain about the sheer number, intrusiveness and plain weirdness of California employment laws. However, Cal-OSHA and its regulatory scheme have not been that different from Federal-OSHA regulation....more
The federal government has taken steps to create additional safety compliance obligations for hospitality employers that will make it more likely you’ll be on the receiving end of an inspection in the near future. So what...more
We updated you about OSHA’s new Weighted Inspection Program in our October 3 post, “What’s the Real Effect of OSHA’s Revamped Inspection Process, the Enforcement Weighing System?” A BNA piece tonight summed up the...more
The answer to my admittedly provocative question is “probably not,” but recent developments demand that employers consider criminal exposure under labor laws, Including the OSHAct.
My partner and fellow OSHA nerd, Ed...more