Workplace Safety and HealthBlog Posts
Congress Considering $700,000 OSHA PenaltiesA Congressional committee has approved maximum penalties of $700,000 per item for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. To read this article in its entirety, please click here.September 18, 2021 |
President’s Path Out of the Pandemic Adds Hurdles for EmployersOn September 9, 2021, the White House issued Path Out of the Pandemic: President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan (the Plan). The Plan outlines a six-pronged approach, portions of which will impose new obligations on employers across the country. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.September 9, 2021 |
California Face Covering and Vaccine Requirement Round-UpIn June, with much fanfare, California announced it was reopening and lifting many of the COVID-19 restrictions that had been in place through state executive and health department orders. However, as there have been surges of COVID-19 across the state, many state and local orders requiring COVID-19 controls have changed in response. Mask mandates and...August 30, 2021 |
OSHA Updates Non-Healthcare Employer Guidance on COVID-19The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its COVID-19 guidance for non-healthcare employers, Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace, on August 13, 2021. To read this article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingAugust 17, 2021 |
OSHA’s Heat Standard Likely to Affect Indoor Manufacturing FacilitiesThis past spring, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its intention to implement a new heat illness standard that will apply to indoor environments. The agency said it has manufacturing facilities in mind, as the rule targets “indoor workers without climate-controlled environments.” To read this article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingJuly 15, 2021 |
Labor Unions Seek Appellate Review of OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary StandardThe United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (UFCW), and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) have filed a petition for review of OSHA’s recent COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. The ETS covers only healthcare settings where COVID-19 patients...… Continue ReadingJuly 8, 2021 |
OSHA Standard Changes That Will Impact ConstructionThe U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory agenda for spring 2021 lists regulations the agency will focus on for the next six months, including 26 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, six of which are in the final rule stage and the rest are in the proposed or pre-rule stage. Many of them will directly affect...… Continue ReadingJune 30, 2021 |
OSHA’s Updated Guidance for COVID-19 in WorkplacesWhen the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rolled out its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard on June 10, 2021, it also issued its updated Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in non-healthcare workplaces. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingJune 30, 2021 |
OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard Effective, With Enforcement DelaysAfter releasing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 for healthcare employers on June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it is publishing the ETS in the Federal Register on June 21, 2021. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingJune 21, 2021 |
The Ongoing Saga with OSHA’s Rulemaking on New and Altered Hazard Communication RequirementsAs Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) evaluates amending the Hazard Communication Standard (“HCS”), 29 CFR 1910.1200, both industry and work safety groups continue to warn that the proposed changes go too far. Although couched as simple changes that will bring the standard in alignment with international standards for management of hazardous materials, the agency’s...… Continue ReadingJune 21, 2021 |