California’s new “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment” standard is now in effect as of July 23, 2024. The new regulation applies to most California workplaces where the indoor temperature reaches 82°F or...more
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published its Final Rule clarifying the rights of employees to designate a non-employee representative to be present...more
Starting July 1, 2024, California employers across all industries must have a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) in place. As previously reported, the recently enacted SB 553 established this new requirement,...more
Employers who meet certain size and industry requirements have until March 2, 2024 to electronically submit occupational injury and illness data from their Form 300A Annual Summary for 2023 to the federal Occupational Safety...more
2/29/2024
/ Deadlines ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, establishing a new written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) requirement for nearly all California employers. The WVPP requirement, which becomes...more
10/18/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
California is taking steps through Assembly Bill 254 (the “Bill”), approved by the State’s Governor on September 27, 2023, to ensure that patient information collected through reproductive or sexual health applications enjoys...more
10/4/2023
/ California ,
CMIA ,
Data Privacy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medical Records ,
New Legislation ,
Personal Information ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
State Privacy Laws
The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) is responsible for detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in federal health care programs. The OIG has...more
On April 12, 2023, OCR issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to strengthen HIPAA’s protections around reproductive health care privacy. The NPRM responds to President Biden’s Executive Order 14076, which directed...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), recently issued a proposed rule to adopt standards under the Health Insurance Portability and...more
As the end of the year draws near, it is important for employers in California to remember there are multiple COVID-19 regulations and laws that will still apply to the workplace in 2023. The Division of Occupational Safety...more
12/22/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Outbreaks
On September 15, 2022, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Board”) will hold a public hearing to address its draft proposed COVID-19 Permanent Standard (“Permanent Standard”). At the hearing, the...more
On April 21, 2022, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board adopted the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). Sheppard Mullin previously wrote...more
At its upcoming April 21, 2022 meeting, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board will decide whether to readopt the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards...more
4/11/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted emergency relief to the petitions of numerous states, businesses, and non-governmental organizations by staying the implementation and enforcement of the federal...more
1/17/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
For the second time, the standards-setting board for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has readopted, with revisions, the agency’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards...more
1/4/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Masks ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In our annual California Legislative Update, we briefly explained that SB 606 expanded the enforcement authority of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) in various ways. With the new law’s...more
12/31/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
What Happened? I Thought This Was Gone!
On Friday, December 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted the nationwide Stay that had been previously put in place by the United States Court of...more
12/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Masks ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, in response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). You can read...more
12/22/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 27, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 62, also known as the Garment Worker Protection Act, into law. SB 62 makes California the first state to require an hourly minimum wage for garment workers by...more
10/20/2021
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Workers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Wage and Hour
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in BladeRoom Group Limited v. Emerson Electric Co. further stresses the importance of carefully crafting the terms and conditions in a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”),...more
On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) updated its “Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.” The updated guidance, which does not apply to...more
8/19/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Guidance Update ,
High Risk Covid Employees ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On March 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched its new COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (“NEP”). The new OSHA directive outlines policies and procedures for minimizing worker...more
3/23/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Inspection Rights ,
NEP ,
New Guidance ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workplace Safety
For much of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many California employees have utilized leave entitlements through federal, state, and local paid sick leave statutes and ordinances. As of December 31, 2020, however, the federal...more
For much of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many California employees have utilized leave entitlements through federal, state, and local paid sick leave statutes and ordinances. As of December 31, 2020, however, the federal...more
1/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
California retailers facing a variety of complications from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic now have one additional obstacle to tackle: compliance with new emergency standards from California’s Division of Occupational Safety...more
12/9/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Quarantine ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety