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
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
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
If you go to OSHA’s Electronic Recordkeeping page, and hit the Electronic Submission section, you’ll be greeted with this message:
Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records to OSHA -
Launch ITA -...more
I handled my first combustible dust case in the late 80s and long before I worked at the Imperial Sugar plant event, I had learned about the fickle and never-to-be-taken lightly risks associated with combustible dust....more
7/13/2018
/ Combustible Dust ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fires ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
As the old adage goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Many employees who are required to stand all day for their jobs would like the option to sit. But in recent years, many employees who traditionally sit...more
5/2/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Development ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Interactive Process ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Undue Hardship ,
Workplace Safety
Mercifully, this has not been a week of big OSHA developments, so we focus on practical observations on safety compliance and on managing OSHA inspections.
Because safety professionals in particular, and managers in general,...more
2/6/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Government Investigations ,
Influenza ,
Job Applicants ,
OSHA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Supervisors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Safety
We’ve separated Saturday’s Weekly Roundup into two posts for more easy consumption. This section includes comments from two nationally recognized professionals in our industry who commented on safety, employment law, and...more
Thanks for the input on topics you’d like to see and on your own observations to reference in the weekly Update. In order to keep this report short, we’re shifting most book, movie and certain other categories to the full...more
1/29/2018
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Catastrophic Events ,
DACA ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Immigration Reform ,
Influenza ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
I started these posts after my partner Travis Vance and I realized that our clients and Firm friends are eager for information in areas other than labor, OSHA, and employment law. A number of nationally renowned thought...more
1/22/2018
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Local Ordinance ,
NLRB ,
Nominations ,
OSHA ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Senate Committees ,
Unions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
If Congress cannot approve a budget by this Friday at midnight, the federal government will shut down. What will this mean for employers across the country? A look back at the most recent government shutdown will provide...more
1/18/2018
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Green Cards ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
PERM ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Visas ,
Workplace Safety
Folks who follow my writing know that of the many groups to which I speak, the AGC National Safety Committee is my favorite. I love the industry and I value the clients and contacts who have become friends, even Bob Emmerich,...more
1/15/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Emergency Response ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Equipment ,
Safety Precautions ,
Safety Training ,
Silica ,
Workplace Safety
This Week’s Labor, Employment Law and OSHA Legal Developments -
• Administration is resubmitting Scott Mugno for OSHA leader and shooting for a January 11 Committee hearing.
• The vital US Labor Department Solicitor...more
1/9/2018
/ Attorney General ,
Ban the Box ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Parental Leave ,
Penalties ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting
Now career government workers cannot do their jobs because dozens of empty leadership positions remain unfilled. Before you complain that some of Trump’s nominees are underqualified – you are correct – consider these facts...more
The long awaited nominee for Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Scott Mugno, finally received his Senate Labor Committee hearing on December 5, and passed through without controversy on a party line vote. Unfortunately,...more
12/22/2017
/ Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Budget ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Nominations ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safety Precautions ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Silica ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
People who do not regularly deal with the local, state and federal government may not realize that there is a huge difference between a “Bureaucrat” and a “Civil Servant.” OSHA has more civil servants than bureaucrats and we...more
The newly reported 2016 fatalities occurred under the Obama Administration and their approach of often-punitive Enforcement efforts, so these numbers have nothing to do with the Trump Administration’s actions or lack thereof....more
Our California offices reported that local governments are provided N 95 dust masks to citizens because of the wild fires. Such masks may not actually help all users and the smoke and particulate may not exceed permissible...more