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
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
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
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
Every time a natural disaster hits, we learn of at least one person who tragically died of a heart attack when placed in a stressful or unusual situation. Sadly, we hear little about the hundreds of thousands of other deaths...more
10/9/2017
/ Catastrophic Events ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Good Samaritans ,
Heart Attacks ,
Medical Devices ,
OSHA ,
Safety Training ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury
Despite the constant news coverage, Americans are inevitably surprised by the violence of hurricanes … and even more by the damages inflicted by storm surges and the extraordinary amounts of rain once the hurricane high winds...more
8/29/2017
/ Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEMA ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Season ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Guidance ,
NOAA ,
OSHA ,
Recovery Plans ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
No one thought that on June 22, we would still not know the Trump administration's enforcement position on the recordkeeping anti-retaliation requirements, including about automatic post-accident drug testing, the Silica...more
6/24/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Safety Violations ,
Silica ,
Trump Administration ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Employers will be relieved, at least temporarily, of the requirement to file injury information through an electronic recordkeeping system that was scheduled to take effect this July 1. The Occupational Safety and Health...more
We’re all scrambling for any hint of impending OSHA changes, but are limited largely to speculation because we do not yet have a new Secretary of Labor or an Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Career OSHA management at...more
On November 28, a Texas federal court judge issued a ruling that cleared the way for the whistleblower provisions of the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Recordkeeping Rule to take effect as scheduled....more
Employers continue to question whether they must change their post-accident drug testing procedures because of the anti-retaliation provisions in OSHA’s new Electronic Recordkeeping Rule announced in May, and if so, whether...more
We continue to receive calls from employers who have heard that they must change their post-accident drug testing procedures because of anti-retaliation provisions in OSHA’s new Electronic Recordkeeping Rule. OSHA set an...more
When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its May 2016 Electronic Recordkeeping Rule, most employers focused on the Rule’s increased reporting requirements and the imminent public posting of...more
Even when I disagree with an OSHA safety initiative, I’ll concede that some good comes out of it, even if it is only to remind employers of the cost of neglecting safety. However, a Whistleblower Severe Violators Enforcement...more
The Good -
1. From an employer’s perspective it could have been worse. OSHA apparently recognized the logistical challenges of defining “the Enterprise” to include every affiliate or related company, but OSHA will...more
The answer to my admittedly provocative question is “probably not,” but recent developments demand that employers consider criminal exposure under labor laws, Including the OSHAct.
My partner and fellow OSHA nerd, Ed...more
As 2015 begins, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is sharpening its emphasis on inspecting and citing employers who violate its recordkeeping standard. This takes on greater importance because of the...more