If you go to OSHA’s Electronic Recordkeeping page, and hit the Electronic Submission section, you’ll be greeted with this message:
Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records to OSHA -
Launch ITA -...more
When one hears about a workplace shooting, it’s easy to demand a “Zero Tolerance” rule against workplace violence. It’s understandable that after the staggering and even criminal revelations of the #METOO Movement that...more
I handled my first combustible dust case in the late 80s and long before I worked at the Imperial Sugar plant event, I had learned about the fickle and never-to-be-taken lightly risks associated with combustible dust....more
7/13/2018
/ Combustible Dust ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fires ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
All employers should review the yearly release of Quest Diagnostics’ Annual Drug Testing Index, which since 1988 has provided the nation’s most accurate information on employee drug use changes.
I quoted the sage, Yogi...more
As the old adage goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Many employees who are required to stand all day for their jobs would like the option to sit. But in recent years, many employees who traditionally sit...more
5/2/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Development ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Interactive Process ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Undue Hardship ,
Workplace Safety
Mercifully, this has not been a week of big OSHA developments, so we focus on practical observations on safety compliance and on managing OSHA inspections.
Because safety professionals in particular, and managers in general,...more
2/6/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Government Investigations ,
Influenza ,
Job Applicants ,
OSHA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Supervisors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Safety
We’ve separated Saturday’s Weekly Roundup into two posts for more easy consumption. This section includes comments from two nationally recognized professionals in our industry who commented on safety, employment law, and...more
Thanks for the input on topics you’d like to see and on your own observations to reference in the weekly Update. In order to keep this report short, we’re shifting most book, movie and certain other categories to the full...more
1/29/2018
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Catastrophic Events ,
DACA ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Immigration Reform ,
Influenza ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
I started these posts after my partner Travis Vance and I realized that our clients and Firm friends are eager for information in areas other than labor, OSHA, and employment law. A number of nationally renowned thought...more
1/22/2018
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Local Ordinance ,
NLRB ,
Nominations ,
OSHA ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Senate Committees ,
Unions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
If Congress cannot approve a budget by this Friday at midnight, the federal government will shut down. What will this mean for employers across the country? A look back at the most recent government shutdown will provide...more
1/18/2018
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Green Cards ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
PERM ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Visas ,
Workplace Safety
Folks who follow my writing know that of the many groups to which I speak, the AGC National Safety Committee is my favorite. I love the industry and I value the clients and contacts who have become friends, even Bob Emmerich,...more
1/15/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Emergency Response ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Equipment ,
Safety Precautions ,
Safety Training ,
Silica ,
Workplace Safety
This Week’s Labor, Employment Law and OSHA Legal Developments -
• Administration is resubmitting Scott Mugno for OSHA leader and shooting for a January 11 Committee hearing.
• The vital US Labor Department Solicitor...more
1/9/2018
/ Attorney General ,
Ban the Box ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Penalties ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memorandum on December 4th, rescinding Obama-era guidance that had allowed states to legalize medical and recreational marijuana with marginal federal interference, eliminating...more
1/8/2018
/ Attorney General ,
Best Practices ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dispensaries ,
Drug Possession ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rescission ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Safety
No other agency so radically changed the law under the Obama Administration; nor galvanized so much management-side resistance as the National Labor relations Board (NLRB). So it seems appropriate that the NLRB would stagger...more
1/2/2018
/ Bargaining Units ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
DuPont ,
Employment Terms ,
Gerrymandering ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Settlement ,
Specialty Healthcare ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Now career government workers cannot do their jobs because dozens of empty leadership positions remain unfilled. Before you complain that some of Trump’s nominees are underqualified – you are correct – consider these facts...more
The long awaited nominee for Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Scott Mugno, finally received his Senate Labor Committee hearing on December 5, and passed through without controversy on a party line vote. Unfortunately,...more
12/22/2017
/ Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Budget ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Nominations ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safety Precautions ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Silica ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
People who do not regularly deal with the local, state and federal government may not realize that there is a huge difference between a “Bureaucrat” and a “Civil Servant.” OSHA has more civil servants than bureaucrats and we...more
The newly reported 2016 fatalities occurred under the Obama Administration and their approach of often-punitive Enforcement efforts, so these numbers have nothing to do with the Trump Administration’s actions or lack thereof....more
Our California offices reported that local governments are provided N 95 dust masks to citizens because of the wild fires. Such masks may not actually help all users and the smoke and particulate may not exceed permissible...more
I am not encouraging workplace violence, even for individuals who may deserve a good old fashioned whooping. However, it is worth noting that one of the few Hollywood celebrities to have largely survived the onslaught of...more
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
We’ve had a difficult Summer and Fall... Hurricanes, the Las Vegas shooting, California fires... and now the firestorm about Presidents contacting family members whose loved ones were killed in battle. Many people have had to...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
Many companies open certain meetings with a “Safety Minute.” Often, the home office develops weekly or daily Safety Minutes for crews to use at pre-work meetings. Ideally, the Company’s leadership requires other meetings to...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. August was no...more
9/9/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Appeals ,
Audio Recording ,
Class Action ,
Classification ,
College Admissions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Green Cards ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Identity Theft ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Vetting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs