On April 16, 2020, OSHA issued a memorandum, “Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer's Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic” (Discretion Memo). ...more
On April 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued guidance to employers in the package delivery industry intended to assist them in reducing the risk of their...more
On April 10, 2020, in a Friday night memo, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its guidance on whether employers are required to record cases of COVID-19 in their 300 Logs for reporting...more
In the second enforcement memorandum, OSHA permits the use of non-NIOSH approved respirators. OSHA’s respiratory protection standard requires that any respirator required or permitted to be used be approved by NIOSH....more
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase within the United States, many employers are now asking whether they must record cases of COVID-19 on their Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 300 Logs...more
3/17/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe remains a significant concern in the workplace. Employers are confronting difficult questions regarding how to handle leave and accommodation, immigration,...more
3/6/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
On December 17, 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Report for 2018....more
1/21/2020
/ Bodily Injury ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Construction Site ,
Construction Workers ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
Heavy Equipment ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Opioid ,
OSHA ,
Slip and Fall ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
On October 8, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds in Construction and Shipyard Sectors, 84...more
1/13/2020
/ Beryllium Exposure ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Health and Safety ,
Labor Regulations ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Hearing ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Shipyard Industry ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
In the November 2019 election Virginia gained a Democratic “trifecta”—both legislative chambers and the governorship are now controlled by one political party. It has been over two decades since Democratic lawmakers...more
1/7/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Ban the Box ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Human Rights Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Work ,
Salaried Employees ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
As 2019 comes to a close, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) remains active both on the regulatory and enforcement fronts, so employers must continue to be vigilant and proactive on their safety and...more
12/16/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
OSHA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SIP ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its top 10 most frequently cited violations for Fiscal Year 2019. The list remains largely unchanged from last year’s....more
12/11/2019
/ Construction Project ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Industrial Space ,
Labor Law Violations ,
OSHA ,
Safety Violations ,
Slip and Fall ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) short- and long-term regulatory agendas remain busy as we close out 2019 and enter 2020. The regulatory agenda is published twice a year and sets forth the Agency’s...more
12/3/2019
/ Construction Project ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. Although the world of employment has obviously changed significantly over the last 125 years, the pace of workplace transformation seems to have accelerated in the past...more
9/3/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Ban the Box ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Shortage ,
LGBTQ ,
Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Rate of Pay ,
Right to Work ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Silica ,
Transgender ,
Unemployment ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared a global health emergency due to an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. WHO officials made the declaration after the virus recently spread to Goma,...more
Public discourse on “healthcare” has focused primarily on health insurance and the significant changes made by the Affordable Care Act. But what about the providers of healthcare—the doctors, nurses, hospitals, pharmaceutical...more
7/12/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Care ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Section 7 ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Whistleblowers ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Safety
Dear Littler: I just learned that one of our employees has the measles. He works on a floor with 20 coworkers in an open office seating arrangement. Can I tell the other employees why he’s out so they can get tested or...more
4/9/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Vaccinations
On January 22, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to provide guidance to general industry employers on OSHA’s final rule regulating occupational exposure...more
1/23/2019
/ Construction Industry ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Health and Safety ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Silica ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finalized its long-awaited approach to crane operator qualification and certification. The rule, which has followed a tortuous road to completion, ends the Agency’s...more