The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency temporary safety standard (ETS) for healthcare employers took effect July 6. Affected employers have 30 days to come into compliance with the new rule....more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard for the health care industry takes effect July 6. However, states that enforce their own OSHA programs have different...more
In addition to its new COVID-19 emergency temporary standard for health care employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a companion revision to its general guidance on mitigating and preventing the...more
Last week, a federal district court judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of Houston hospital workers who object to their employer’s requirement that all employees receive the COVID-19 vaccination. The...more
Yesterday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring COVID-19 exposure control practices for the healthcare industry. OSHA originally considered a broader...more
A new Florida law restricting businesses from asking customers about COVID-19 vaccination status or denying goods or services on this basis has made headlines nationwide. Similar “anti-vaccine passport” laws have been passed...more
A new wave of lawsuits is attempting to impose legal liability on companies whose alleged negligence resulted in an employee becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus and then passing the illness to a household member who...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration appears to be losing interest in issuing temporary emergency regulations related to COVID-19 safety practices. Changing science and diminishing infection rates due to...more
As more businesses move toward ending remote working arrangements, we have had a number of questions from clients with regard to employee requests to continue working from home for medical reasons. The employees cite a...more
As more Americans receive COVID-19 vaccinations, a number of our clients have asked whether employees who provide proof of such vaccination can be excused from workplace COVID-19 control measures such as mask wearing....more
On March 12, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a COVID-19 National Emphasis Program focusing enforcement efforts on employers with high frequencies of close employee contact with other...more
With all the recent discussion over the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration planning to issue a temporary COVID-19 safety standard, employers may not recall that the agency has had a more general infectious...more
In a recent interview, the former head of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration indicated his belief that many employers are not taking adequate measures to address the real risks for COVID-19 in the...more
Under an executive order issued in the first days of the Biden administration, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been tasked with deciding whether a nationwide workplace COVID-19 infection...more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s hazard communication regulations require employers to take measures to minimize employee exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals. Among other obligations, the...more
Some employers are considering mandating COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment. While such policies are generally legal (with some religious and disability accommodations included), they could result in claims...more
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention modified its guidance on quarantine recommendations for fully vaccinated persons who have been potentially exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Under prior guidance,...more
In its first indication of upcoming policy changes under the new administration, last week the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updates to its COVID-19 infection prevention guidance. Among other...more
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order instructing the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue revised workplace safety guidance intended to increase protections for...more
A number of employers have encountered resistance to mask wearing mandates put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, employees assert that they have a medical condition that prevents them from being...more
The availability of effective vaccinations for the COVID-19 virus has many employers contemplating their approach toward inoculating employees. Some employers are considering mandatory vaccination policies, while others are...more
With winter quickly approaching, employers face the usual spate of employees with seasonal flu and common colds. This year, however, cold and flu season coincides with spiking COVID-19 cases nationwide....more
During the first U.S. surge in COVID-19 infections, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term residential care facilities experienced an especially high degree of workplace transmission of the virus and...more
If found responsible for a serious violation of workplace safety standards, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration can assess up to $13,494 per item cited. However, when the citation involves a repeat or...more
While there are no guarantees that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination will be available in the near future, the potential for such vaccine has led employers to begin thinking about how it will impact their workplaces....more