The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a final rule to restore and expand Obama-era requirements for employers in dozens of designated industries that have worksites with at least 100 employees...more
Employers can breathe a sigh of relief for now as it appears that Senate Democrats are no longer pursuing a massive increase to OSHA’s penalties for safety violations. Currently, the maximum fine OSHA can assess against an...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that it will consider an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine “work-related” recordable illnesses if an employee is required to take the vaccine as a...more
Following up on Georgia’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act,” passed and signed into law in 2020, the Georgia legislature has passed a one-year extension to the liability protection, to July 14, 2022. The bill has been...more
On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.” The Guidance incorporates much of...more
2/4/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sanitation ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Safety
As directed by President Joe Biden’s Executive Order issued on January 21, 2021 requiring the Federal Government to take swift action to protect workers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health...more
After Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act in 2015, it has now become an annual requirement for the U.S. Department of Labor to adjust civil penalty amounts for the various...more
As part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic in workplaces, OSHA continues to issue alerts and guidance designed to keep workers safe. The most recent guidance issued by OSHA deals with ventilation...more
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has signed into law Senate Bill 359, which, like legislation enacted by several other states, is designed to protect healthcare facilities, businesses, and other entities from civil liability...more
Meat processing and packing facilities around the United States have emerged as hotspots for COVID-19. While handling and processing meat and poultry does not expose workers to coronavirus, close contact with coworkers and...more
On April 16, 2020, OSHA issued an Enforcement Memorandum directed to Regional Administrators and State Plan Designees giving them Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer’s Good Faith Efforts During the...more
In light of the ongoing safety concerns related to COVID-19, OSHA issued an alert identifying various voluntary safety measures that employers can take to keep package delivery workers safe from exposure to coronavirus. ...more
Multiple employers work together at the same site all the time. So if someone gets hurt or if OSHA knocks, how do you know you have done enough to protect your company? Safety liability can be serious business if you have...more
In a Final Rule published by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) on April 9, 2018, the agency amended certain changes made to the Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines final rule which was...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is reviewing OSHA’s use of the general duty clause to issue citations against employers for heat-related hazards that are likely to cause death or serious bodily...more
In response to requests from the public, on March 26, 2018 the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) announced that it is reopening the public comment period to the Agency’s request for information (RFI) related to...more
With what has now become a regular ritual, lawmakers rushed to pass a $1.3 trillion omnibus bill on the last possible day to avoid a government shutdown. The 2,300-page bill was passed by the House last Thursday by a vote...more
On February 22, 2018, the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) announced that it would be instituting a new Mobile Inspection Application System (Mobile IAS) to improve and further enhance the efficiency and...more
A vote on Scott Mugno to become the head of OSHA has been postponed by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). Mr. Mugno had already won approval by the committee on a straight-party line vote on...more
Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act), on January 2, 2018 the U.S....more
Although the Department of Labor under new Labor Secretary Alex Acosta has indicated that it will be scaling back on the broad interpretation of joint employer for purposes of determining enforcement liability, on November 6,...more
On September 12, 2017, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published two proposed rules seeking to further amend the Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines final rule which was published on...more
With the December 1, 2017 deadline fast approaching for covered employers to electronically submit injury and illness records to OSHA, the Agency has indicated that it is close to completing its review to the Obama-era...more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration will implement an action plan for employees who do not meet the agency’s medical standards.
As a condition of employment, MSHA inspectors and technical personnel must undergo...more
After a crane operator suffered serious injuries earlier this year while attempting to stow the crane’s lattice extension, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a serious accident alert for crane...more