Today we have insights from Norm Keith , a management-side employment and labor lawyer for KPMG.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues with over 5.1 million deaths worldwide and over 29,000 in Canada. Tens of thousands of...more
On November 18, 2021 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning private employers, regardless of size, from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations unless several exemptions are offered to employees. Effective...more
In a very strongly worded 22-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its earlier stay of OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) calling for employee vaccination or weekly testing...more
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) maintains an occupational safety and health plan that is approved and monitored by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (federal OSHA)....more
As we reported a day after the November 5, 2021, effective date of OSHA’s ETS, the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay of the ETS pending further proceedings. On November 12, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit...more
OSHA’s long-awaited general industry COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) was officially published today and became effective immediately for employers in those states without “state OSHA” plans. However, employers...more
On October 27, 2021, OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) to initiate a comment period to gather diverse perspectives and expertise on heat stress issues such as heat stress thresholds, heat...more
On September 9, 2021, the Department of Labor announced plans to issue an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with more than 100 employees to ensure that every employee is fully vaccinated against...more
On July 6, 2021, the Department of Labor for the state of New York published its model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (the Model Plan) under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO), which was...more
On July 6, 2021, NYS DOL published its Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO”), signed into law on May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo. In addition to the...more
As discussed in a previous blog, covered employers were required to electronically submit 300A data for the calendar year 2020 between January 2, 2021, through March 2, 2021. In a recent standard interpretation dated May 6,...more
Every business in the United States has been asking itself these past few days whether to drop any requirements it may have for visitors or employees to wear face masks since the CDC changed its COVID-19 guidance related to...more
5/20/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Retailers ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo of New York signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) into law. The HERO Act creates occupational safety and health standards in the private sector for all airborne...more
5/14/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo of New York signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (the “Act”) into law which amends the New York Labor Law. The Act creates occupational safety and health standards in the private...more
5/10/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
On April 26, OSHA sent its COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. OIRA is the regulatory “gatekeeper” that is...more
It is probably safe to say that as more businesses continue to reopen without restrictions and there is increased availability to vaccine supplies, many employers are considering whether they want to implement a mandatory...more
As more businesses reopen without restrictions and increased availability of vaccine supplies, many employers contemplate a mandatory vaccine policy. The decision turns on individualized facts to each organization, such as...more
Both federal and state OSHA regulators have been regularly citing employers for failure to comply with their respective respiratory protection standards in connection with COVID-19 inspections and these citations have not...more
Under OSHA’s Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation, employers are required to affirmatively notify OSHA when an employee suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye...more
Shortly after President Biden took office, he signed an Executive Order directing OSHA to, among other things, determine whether emergency temporary standards (ETS) on COVID-19 are necessary; and if so, to issue them by March...more
Prior to the Trump administration, OSHA commonly engaged in the practice of “public shaming.” In other words, if an OSHA investigation found a relatively serious safety violation, it would issue a press release identifying...more
In today's episode, Mike Schmidt is joined by his colleague and the Chair of Cozen O'Connor's OSHA Practice Group, John Ho, to talk about the new guidance (finally?) issued by OSHA on the Covid-19 pandemic. What did the...more
On January 29, 2021, OSHA issued revised COVID-19 updated guidance for employers following an executive order issued by President Biden directing the agency to do so. The guidance contains many suggestions that employers are...more
2/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
Almost immediately after taking office, President Biden issued an Executive Order requiring OSHA to publish revised COVID-19 guidance for employers, among other things.
The revised guidance contains many suggestions that...more
Happy New Year! A New Year means increased maximum penalties for OSHA citations. As of January 16, 2021, the maximum penalties for serious, other-than-serious and posting requirements is now $13,653 per violation; $13,653 per...more