For the second time in a week, key members of the healthcare provider community are the focus of an announcement promising more pandemic-related scrutiny from a federal agency. The Occupational Safety and Health...more
You’ve digested the detailed FAQs on OSHA’s mandate-or-test vaccine ETS, you’ve read about the rule being blocked by a court order, and you know that a conservative appeals court now controls the fate of the rule (for now)....more
Where should an employer post federally required posters when many or most employees are working remotely? The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) recently released a Wage and Hour field assistance bulletin on December 23...more
1/25/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Posting Requirements ,
Remote Working ,
Service Contract Act ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
The EEOC further revised its guidance to employers to clarify that it does not deem workplace antibody testing lawful under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). COVID-19 antibody tests have recently been touted as a way...more
As expected, Governor Brian Kemp issued a detailed executive order to begin to re-open businesses throughout the state in the hopes that the worst of the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
[Ed. Note: The initial guidelines and...more
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp just issued an order that supersedes all prior and conflicting county, city, and state shelter-in-place orders, with the exception of individualized quarantine or isolation orders issued by a...more
The Fulton County (GA) Board of Health recently issued an order, effective immediately, requiring all residents of Fulton County to shelter-in-place, permitting residents to leave their homes only if providing or receiving...more
Fisher Phillips has assembled a cross-disciplinary taskforce of attorneys across the country to address the many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus – especially now that the...more
3/3/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Global Workforce ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
To: C-Suite.
From: Overworked VP Corporate HR.
Just got off the phone with one of our Washington State operations.
There have been two deaths, the first in the US, in Washington State, and the news is raising fears...more
UPDATED February 3, 2020. As we stated in our January 27th Alert, employers must continue monitoring and responding to developments and acting accordingly to protect their employees, assets, and brand. The general approach...more
Although news outlets may be preoccupied with alarming updates about the spread of coronavirus – including several cases identified in the United States – employers don’t need to panic quite yet. As of today, the Centers for...more
Although the cases have slowed in some areas, we still expect a heavy flu season. According to the CDC’s January 18 FLUVIEW, we’re up to 15-million U.S. flu illnesses, 140,000 hospitalizations, and 8,200 deaths, especially...more
After 35 years of practice, certain issues keep me awake at night. One concern is about contractors working onsite or embedded in a working plant or other facility. Examples include year-round or shutdown work at power...more
To almost everyone’s delight, OSHA has filled the vital position of the Director of the Directorate of Construction (DOC). The DOC Director position is always challenging to fill. It requires a high degree of construction...more
I recently talked to a group of managers about misusing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the resulting safety and performance problems. Issues raised, included...
• Employees justifying bad judgment by claiming...more
An increasingly common series of questions employers have been asking of late relate to their employees’ use of CBD. Will use of CBD products impair employees? If an employee or applicant tests positive on a drug test and...more
How often have you wished that you could candidly respond to reference requests or to attacks on your organization or questions about a catastrophe... and been unable to do so because of “legal concerns?”
The legal...more
The first full documentary on the fall of film mogul Harvey Weinstein premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and it can provide employers with an important reminder about the need to rid workplaces of sexual...more
2/20/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Safety
Until the 1950s, tuberculosis terrified people in both developed and undeveloped countries, causing thousands of sanitariums to “isolate” patients. No real cure existed. Partly in response to the 400 percent increase in TB in...more
Since I watched The American Factory and Untouchable (first Weinstein #METOO documentary) at the Sundance Film Festival, I’ve been sensitive to the workplace lessons presented by well made films.
Last night I watched the...more
As we reported earlier yesterday, OSHA released its Final Rule eliminating the responsibility of certain employers to electronically submit to OSHA data from its Form 300 Workplace Injury and Illness Log and the 300A forms...more
1/25/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Final Rules ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Volks Rule ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
In a significant victory for employers, a federal appeals court recently limited OSHA’s ability to expand accident investigations beyond their original and intended scope. The 11th Circuit’s decision in United States v....more
10/18/2018
/ Appeals ,
General Duty Clause ,
Motions to Quash ,
OSHA ,
Probable Cause ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Search Warrant ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury
Oct. 9, 2018 We've waited for over a year to learn if the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals would uphold an earlier court decision saying that OSHA could not expand an injury-based inspection by arguing that injury records and an...more
10/10/2018
/ Chemicals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Motions to Quash ,
OSHA ,
Probable Cause ,
Safety Inspections ,
Search Warrant ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
We regularly remind employers that third parties, such as unions, and social justice and environmental groups, will use safety as a club to embarrass and bring pressure on a company. Sometimes, these third parties use...more
For me, the anniversary of 911 is principally for remembering and paying respect to the 2996 victims at the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and that Pennsylvania field, as well as the many individuals who have lost their life and...more