Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is initiating a rulemaking to develop a heat illness standard....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA intends to restore an Obama-era requirement that employers submit OSHA 300 logs and OSHA 301 reports electronically, ostensibly to improve the Agency’s data and to potentially target employers with...more
Seyfarth Synopsis:OSHA recently announced a three-pronged approach to establish a heat illness enforcement initiative, pertaining to both indoor or outdoor work settings: an enforcement memorandum, a National Emphasis...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Today the FDA approved Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA), previously known as Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, to prevent COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 and older. This could be big news for those on...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Today OSHA updated its Protecting Workers Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace to adopt recommendations “analogous” to the July 27, 2021 Centers for Disease Control...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In light of rising cases of COVID-19, the CDC has recently reversed its prior facemask guidance, and has now required that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals wear masks indoors in areas where...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: President Biden recently laid out his administration’s next steps in efforts to get more Americans vaccinated.
On July 29, 2021, the White House released “Remarks by President Biden Laying Out the Next...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 27, 2021, the CDC revised its mask guidance in response to the burgeoning threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant, recommending that all individuals — including those who are vaccinated — wear masks...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: By ignoring the terms of a settlement agreement it had with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), a New Jersey roofing contractor now faces more than $600,000 in penalties after...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 28, 2021, OSHA published a Compliance Directive, DIR 2021-02 (CPL 02), covering inspection procedures and enforcement policies for the Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19. The new directive...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA Region V has recently adopted an Instruction to establish a Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for conducting inspections of select manufacturing industries with hearing loss rates higher than the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As we approach the heat of the summer season and as employers begin to re-open after months of COVID-19 quarantine, workers may be out of shape, out of practice on workplace safety procedures, and may have...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 21, 2021, the federal register published OSHA’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (“ETS”), focused on the health care industry....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 9, 2021, at the tail end of prepared remarks before the House Education and Labor Committee, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced – not with a bang, but with a whimper – that OSHA would publish...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As the prospects of a likely Biden administration develop a key question becomes what should employers expect from OSHA under Biden? A COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard, aggressive enforcement, and a...more
Hopefully most employers will never experience a serious workplace accident involving personal injury, property damage or both. This article will provide recommendations for an employer to respond in a forthright manner while...more
1. Introduction -
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, drugs and alcohol remain a significant occupational safety issue for employers across the country. The legal environment is rapidly changing for many drugs, and additional...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In two recent guidance documents, OSHA recommends that employers encourage workers to wear cloth face coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19. OSHA further addresses the challenges posed by cloth face...more
9/21/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA, in a press release, noted that it recently issued citations to a food manufacturer and its temporary employment agency, with over $200,000 in proposed penalties to each employer for “failing to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA announced that it has cited eleven employers for not protecting employees from COVID-19 exposure during inspections of industries where workers have an elevated risk of exposure. The industries...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With Hurricane Laura drenching the Gulf Coast, employers are facing daunting emergencies, safety and health risks, property damage, employee disruption, and re-building....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The CDC published guidance aimed at assisting retail and service companies in limiting workplace violence against or involving their employees that may be associated with enforcing face mask mandates and...more
8/27/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Violence
Seyfarth Synopsis: Commission’s approval of undocumented training provides blueprint for employee misconduct claims for employers going forward....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA Administrator Loren Sweatt recently blogged related to heat illness in the workplace as “forecasters are calling for above-average heat in some parts of the country and scorching temperatures in July...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted a Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of COVID-19. Under the OSHA regulations and the revised guidance, most cases of...more