Federal workplace safety officials just released the mandate-or-test workplace vaccine emergency rule, and employers are sure to have questions. The Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) developed by the Occupational Safety and...more
11/5/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
The Department of Labor just took the next step in advancing President Biden’s vaccine mandate-or-test emergency rule, sending the Emergency Temporary Standard to the White House’s regulatory office late yesterday. Coming on...more
As part of his administration’s plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden recently announced a “six-pronged, comprehensive national strategy” to use every tool at his disposal to enforce vaccine and testing...more
In arguably the most far-reaching move of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration announced Thursday that federal workplace safety officials will soon issue a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic (mercifully) starts to retreat, many states have begun rolling back face-covering mandates, which often relieve employers of the obligation to require masks for employees and visitors in the...more
5/10/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Citations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Safety
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many unique workplace safety issues for employers. One of the most challenging developments has been whether an employee’s COVID-19 case should go on your OSHA 300 logs pursuant to the...more
A recent move by the federal workplace safety watchdog agency means that you should prepare for more COVID-19-related OSHA inspections this spring and summer. On March 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...more
As predicted following Joe Biden’s election as President of the United States, the new administration announced last week that it has directed the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to consider...more
1/27/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Regulations ,
Notification Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The Department of Labor has just published its increases to the maximum civil penalties that can be assessed against employers by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The increases are based on...more
Media outlets announced Saturday that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. If the legal challenges to the election result fail and he is inaugurated in January, President-Elect Biden can begin taking...more
11/10/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Citations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
President Donald Trump’s recent hospitalization at the Walter Reed Medical Center has captured the American public’s attention, especially given the potential implications with the election less than a month away. But for...more
10/12/2020
/ Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Evidence ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Investigations ,
Workplace Safety
COVID-19 pandemic guidance from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been constantly changing and confusing for employers....more
This article addresses many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters; consequently, in addition to federal laws, we also focus on certain state laws, especially those in the areas...more
8/21/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Charitable Donations ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Medical Leave ,
Military Leave ,
Military Service Members ,
Natural Disasters ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Compensation System ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
USERRA ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued constantly changing guidance for employers that many view as complex, confusing, and impractical. In its perplexing web of...more
8/18/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Notification Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration just issued new guidance for enforcing its COVID-19 recordkeeping requirements, soon requiring covered employers to make an increased effort to determine whether they need to...more
Many essential businesses operating during the COVID-19 pandemic may be utilizing temporary workers and contractors. Employers using such workers must keep in mind their responsibilities for notifying the Occupational Safety...more
Fear of the coronavirus and flu may cause anxiety among employees who frequently encounter other people, which may lead them to request permission to wear – or to simply wear without permission – a medical mask or respirator....more
Employee safety has always been important, but the recent public shaming of allegedly hazardous workplaces reveals that the public’s disdain for companies that provide unsafe environments for their employees is increasing. No...more
The iconic sports movie, Major League, premiered 30 years ago. Three decades later, nearly everyone remembers the classic comedic scenes with characters such as Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), Jake Taylor (Tom...more
10/16/2019
/ Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Harkening back to the “Blacklists” imposed by the Obama administration, Dr. David Michaels, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, urged the government to ban a construction...more
Ever wonder what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would do if an employer refused to pay a fine? We just found out, and it’s not just the employer that needs to be concerned. After a New Jersey-based...more
The news that President Trump selected Eugene Scalia to take over as Labor Secretary late last week caught some employers by surprise; after all, it was just a week ago that we were analyzing the track record of the...more
7/22/2019
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Affirmative Action ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Labor Policies ,
Medical Leave ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD)
When an inspector from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shows up at your workplace, know this: everything—and we mean everything—that a manager or supervisor says at any point to the inspector will...more
Every presidential administration has its priorities, and President Trump’s is no different. President Trump has put his stamp on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by stalling, delaying, or modifying...more
This past Memorial Day weekend, the southeastern region of the United States experienced a historic heatwave that set all-time records. It’s only going to get hotter, and temperatures throughout the summer can create hazards...more