Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) released a final memorandum on “Guidance on Plantwide Applicability Limitation Provisions Under the New Source Review...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list of disinfectants to use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19....more
3/9/2020
/ Best Practices ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: As an early and aggressive response to potential threats related to the novel coronavirus disease, now identified as COVID-19, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) activated its Emerging...more
3/3/2020
/ Best Practices ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Pesticides ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has proposed new accidental chemical release reporting requirements that are broad in scope and would cover additional chemicals, threshold...more
1/23/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 20, 2019, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) was signed into law, including provisions for adding certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the EPA’s...more
1/20/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Occupational Exposure ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Waste Disposal ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has published its 2020 increases to OSHA civil penalties.
We have blogged previously about the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) annual adjustments to the maximum civil penalty dollar amounts for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA recently updated its National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries (NEP), adding a targeting methodology for industries with high employer-reported amputation statistics....more
1/3/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Bodily Injury ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
Inspection Rights ,
Inspections ,
Manufacturer Liability ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Equipment ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
NAICS ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Training ,
Strict Compliance ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an untimely Notice of Contest to an OSHA citation was permissible due to “excusable neglect” by the employer, on account of a single...more
11/22/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Citations ,
Contested Proceedings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Excusable Neglect ,
Late Notices ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Safety Standards ,
Workplace Safety
New Illinois Office of State Fire Marshall (“OSFM”) regulations, (42 Ill. Reg. 10476, 10662-667, June 15, 2018, effective October 13, 2018), require that periodic operation and maintenance include recorded “walkthrough...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has initiated a Site-Specific Targeting 2016 (SST-16) Program using the injury and illness information electronically submitted by employers to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A railcar cleaning company and its executive officers were recently charged in a 22-count indictment with conspiracy, violating worker safety standards resulting in worker deaths, violating the Resource...more
In this program, our panelists will lead an interactive discussion on the trends we are seeing in OSHA regulation a year into the Trump administration. Employers’ expectations for a more business-friendly Agency have not...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA today published a proposed rule to amend the injury and illness recordkeeping rules by rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information...more
7/30/2018
/ Comment Period ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FOIA ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
Yesterday our panel from Seyfarth’s Workplace Safety team led a briefing on OSHA regulation and enforcement under the Trump Administration.
One year into the Trump Administration, employers’ expectations for a more...more
5/16/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Best Practices ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safety Inspections ,
Severe Violators Enforcement Program (SVEP) ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a guidance document issued last week, U.S. EPA sets out to deliberately move environmental enforcement responsibilities back to the states. While this may, to local interests, represent a noble purpose,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In another example of business-friendly regulatory agency actions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has just rescinded the “Seitz Memo” associated with the “Once In, Always In” policy affecting the...more
2/1/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule defining “Waters of the U.S.,” and recodify the pre-existing rule, then engage in a subsequent rulemaking to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Attorney General has directed the Department of Justice to no longer allow payments to third parties as part of resolving federal cases. For environmental cases, this prohibition could...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With the EPA adding the consideration of vapor intrusion in its Superfund site investigations, hundreds of sites that previously would not rank high enough to qualify for listing on the National Priorities...more
12/12/2016
/ Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
Groundwater ,
National Priorities List (NPL) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Soil ,
Subsurface Conditions ,
Superfund ,
Vapor Intrusion
Seyfarth Synopsis: The EPA’s new “Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule,” while containing some changes that industry welcomes, also contains new requirements that present challenges for the regulated community. We will...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With a dramatic change from a progressive democratic to a conservative republican administration, we anticipate that EPA is not only likely to pivot away from an enforcement heavy to a more business...more
11/15/2016
/ Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Mines ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exports ,
Federal Land ,
Fracking ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Groundwater ,
Mineral Leases ,
Moratorium ,
National Enforcement Initiatives (NEIs) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Paris Agreement ,
Presidential Elections ,
Renewable Energy ,
Repeal ,
Stream Protection Rule ,
Supreme Court Appointments ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA “strongly supports” EPA’s proposed updates to its existing regulations governing significant new uses of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The proposed changes seek to...more
11/8/2016
/ Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act ,
Coal Industry ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Lautenberg Act ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
NIOSH ,
OSHA ,
Protective Gear ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Despite an ongoing lawsuit over its rules, OSHA issues interpretation for its May 2016 retaliation and recordkeeping rule.
We previously blogged that OSHA had again delayed, to December 1, 2016,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After a lawsuit was filed against OSHA challenging its May 2016 retaliation and recordkeeping rule, OSHA again delays the rule’s effective date.
OSHA announced today that it has again delayed the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently decided court case finds that motor vehicle carriers may lawfully require overweight drivers to submit to a medical examination testing for obstructive sleep apnea.
We had previously blogged...more