Workplace Safety and HealthBlog Posts
OSHA Nomination Signals Greater Enforcement, New StandardsSignaling significant regulatory and enforcement changes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), President Joseph Biden has named a California official to lead the agency. To read the full article, click here.… Continue ReadingApril 20, 2021 |
OSHA Taking Its Time to Issue COVID-19 Emergency Temporary StandardThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was directed under an executive order to promulgate an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to address COVID-19 no later than March 15, 2021. It has yet to do so. To read this article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingMarch 18, 2021 |
As States Reopen Employers Face Hard Choices on How to Manage Workplace SafetyThe coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has continued to evolve, with COVID-19 cases declining in some areas and vaccinations being rolled out in phases by local public health authorities. Yet widespread vaccinations are not expected to be in place until later in 2021, with many Americans not having access to vaccines until May or June at the...… Continue ReadingMarch 9, 2021 |
Inspector General Office Report Criticizes OSHA COVID-19 Enforcement, Pushes for COVID-19 StandardCriticizing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enforcement efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (OIG) pushes for a COVID-19, virus-specific standard in its report issued on February 25, 2021. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.… Continue ReadingMarch 7, 2021 |
Continued Uptick in OSHA Requests for Information to Nursing HomesLong-term care facilities have been hit hard by COVID-19. As we approach the one-year anniversary of this national emergency, many facilities have grown accustomed to the additional reporting and scrutiny. However, this climate has also made it easier for OSHA to target long-term care facilities. One of OSHA’s common tactics is using public records (e.g.,...… Continue ReadingMarch 1, 2021 |
Cal OSHA Offers Additional Guidance for Its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards: Testing Sites and Scope of CoverageIt has been three months since California approved the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (“Cal OSHA”) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). The rushed implementation of Cal OSHA’s ETS, which imposed new and confusing obligations on employers, left many scratching their heads and resulted in several legal challenges to the ETS. For example, some agricultural...… Continue ReadingMarch 1, 2021 |
New and Altered Hazard Communication Requirements Coming SoonEarlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced proposed amendments to the Hazard Communication Standard (“HCS”) in 29 CFR 1910.1200. The last time OSHA amended the HCS was in 2012 to align the standard with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (“GHS”) and to create consistency with...… Continue ReadingFebruary 22, 2021 |
Push to Give Workers Right to Sue Employers for Occupational Safety and Health Act ViolationsAs the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) turned 50 in December 2020, the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) issued “OSHA’s Next 50 Years: Legislating a Private Right of Action to Empower Workers,” in which it suggested that Congress provide a private right of action for employees under the OSH Act. To read this...… Continue ReadingFebruary 17, 2021 |
OSHA Issues New Guidance for Employers Combating COVID-19On 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 the existing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adds to guidance OSHA previously issued, and reflects strategies and practices familiar...… Continue ReadingFebruary 8, 2021 |
A New Chairperson Now Leads the Occupational Safety and Health Review CommissionCynthia L. Attwood was sworn in as Chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (Review Commission), January 20, 2021, following her designation by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Ms. Atwood is very familiar with the role of Chair, having served as Acting Chairman and then Chairman from April 2015 until January 2017. In...… Continue ReadingFebruary 2, 2021 |