The short answer is the proverbial attorney response, “it depends.” Under OSHA’s multi-employer citation policy, an employer may be held responsible for the violations of other employers where it could reasonably be expected...more
On March 30, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published new proposed rules regarding electronic recordkeeping requirements. Specifically, OSHA has sought to revise recordkeeping rules related to...more
Normally, OSHA citations are issued only against the corporations which employ workers, not the individuals who own or control them. Thus, corporate entities are generally liable for penalties under the Occupational Safety...more
It is well-established that injuries and illnesses, such as those sustained in a motor vehicle accident that occurs during an employee’s normal commute time from home to work, are not work-related and thus not recordable...more
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate the stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standards (OSHA ETS) was widely reported. While the stay of the OSHA ETS has...more
Not surprisingly, particularly after a recent oral argument on January 7, 2022, the Supreme Court reinstated the national stay of OSHA’s ETS today. In doing so, the Court found that the petitioners were “likely to succeed on...more
1/14/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Lack of Authority ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The start of the New Year serves as a good reminder to covered employers that they must electronically submit 300A data on or before March 2, 2022, for the calendar year 2021. Covered employers include those with 250 or more...more
On December 27, OSHA announced it is allowing its ETS for healthcare facilities to sunset but that it would continue to work expeditiously to promulgate a permanent standard for coronavirus-related hazards. In its statement,...more
On December 18, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the Fifth Circuit’s national stay of OSHA’s general duty COVID Emergency Testing Standard (ETS) that covers private employers with 100 or more employees, except...more
Friday night, the Sixth Circuit lifted the Fifth Circuit’s national stay on OSHA’s general duty COVID ETS. Shortly thereafter, OSHA issued information to employers stating it would exercise enforcement discretion...more
To state the obvious, the pandemic has resulted in completely unexpected change across the country in so many ways. OSHA’s visibility and role are probably one of the most significant changes to any federal agency. Prior to...more
12/16/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Construction Industry ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Manufacturers ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Occupational Injury ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Workplace Safety
On the morning of December 6, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major expansions to the “Key to New York City” program. The city will issue additional enforcement and reasonable accommodation guidance on December 15,...more
Today we have insights from Norm Keith , a management-side employment and labor lawyer for KPMG.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues with over 5.1 million deaths worldwide and over 29,000 in Canada. Tens of thousands of...more
On November 18, 2021 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning private employers, regardless of size, from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations unless several exemptions are offered to employees. Effective...more
In a very strongly worded 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its earlier stay of OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) calling for employee vaccination or weekly testing...more
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) maintains an occupational safety and health plan that is approved and monitored by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (federal OSHA)....more
As we reported a day after the November 5, 2021, effective date of OSHA’s ETS, the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay of the ETS pending further proceedings. On November 12, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit...more
OSHA’s long-awaited general industry COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) was officially published today and became effective immediately for employers in those states without “state OSHA” plans. However, employers...more
On October 27, 2021, OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) to initiate a comment period to gather diverse perspectives and expertise on heat stress issues such as heat stress thresholds, heat...more
On September 9, 2021, the Department of Labor announced plans to issue an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with more than 100 employees to ensure that every employee is fully vaccinated against...more
On July 6, 2021, the Department of Labor for the state of New York published its model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (the Model Plan) under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO), which was...more
On July 6, 2021, NYS DOL published its Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO”), signed into law on May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo. In addition to the...more
As discussed in a previous blog, covered employers were required to electronically submit 300A data for the calendar year 2020 between January 2, 2021, through March 2, 2021. In a recent standard interpretation dated May 6,...more
Every business in the United States has been asking itself these past few days whether to drop any requirements it may have for visitors or employees to wear face masks since the CDC changed its COVID-19 guidance related to...more
5/20/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Retailers ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo of New York signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) into law. The HERO Act creates occupational safety and health standards in the private sector for all airborne...more
5/14/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety