On August 13, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its updated COVID-19 guidance to account for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) July 27, 2021, guideline...more
8/16/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On May 13, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amended its COVID-19–related guidelines to provide that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks in public, whether indoors or outdoors....more
On May 10, 2021, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit filed by the wife of a construction worker against his employer after he allegedly contracted COVID-19 at his...more
On April 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Douglas L. Parker to be assistant secretary of labor for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Parker...more
In what is likely the final predicate for issuing a COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS), on March 12, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a new National Emphasis Program (NEP)...more
On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued guidance to DOT-regulated employers, employees, and service agents regarding drug and alcohol testing concerns during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the...more
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent notice on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) products serves as a warning to employees in DOT-defined safety-sensitive positions. While the DOT has always had clear regulations...more
3/2/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trucking Industry
On January 9, 2020, the U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote both of President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Cynthia L. Attwood was first to be confirmed, followed...more
On December 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) unanimously approved President Donald Trump’s two nominees to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The president...more
On October 15, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Cynthia L. Attwood to serve as a commissioner on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). If confirmed by the Senate, this...more
On October 9, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Amanda Wood Laihow to serve as the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s (OSHRC) second commissioner. That addition will give the...more
In a matter of first impression before the court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held in Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority, Nos. 17-3508 and 18-2199 (June 12, 2019), that obesity is not a...more
7/1/2019
/ ADAAA ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Impression ,
Jurisdiction ,
Obesity ,
Protected Class
A divided Oklahoma Supreme Court recently invalidated the $350,000 noneconomic damages cap on pain and suffering in personal injury lawsuits. In Beason v. I.E. Miller Services, Inc., the court held that the statutory damages...more
5/6/2019
/ Bodily Injury ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Damage Caps ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Motions to Quash ,
OK Supreme Court ,
Pain and Suffering ,
State Constitutions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Wrongful Death
The year 2018 saw the issuance of several noteworthy federal workplace safety and health decisions. Three of those decisions came in the cases of Secretary of Labor v. Angelica Textile Services, Inc.; United States v. Mar-Jac...more
On January 9, 2018, District III of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that temporary workers who are injured while working for their host employers have the right to elect either to claim workers’ compensation benefits or...more
On November 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule making significant changes to 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 40, which affects employers administering drug tests in the...more
On April 25, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officially rescinded its 2013 letter of interpretation that many viewed as a clear bow to organized labor by the previous administration and that had...more