On the heels of California’s new indoor heat illness prevention standard becoming effective, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced a proposed national heat and injury illness prevention...more
10/1/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Heat Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safety Precautions ,
Safety Standards ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
Starting July 1, 2024, California employers across all industries must have a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) in place. As previously reported, the recently enacted SB 553 established this new requirement,...more
Employers who meet certain size and industry requirements have until March 2, 2024 to electronically submit occupational injury and illness data from their Form 300A Annual Summary for 2023 to the federal Occupational Safety...more
2/29/2024
/ Deadlines ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, establishing a new written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) requirement for nearly all California employers. The WVPP requirement, which becomes...more
10/18/2023
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
As the end of the year draws near, it is important for employers in California to remember there are multiple COVID-19 regulations and laws that will still apply to the workplace in 2023. The Division of Occupational Safety...more
12/22/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Outbreaks
On September 15, 2022, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Board”) will hold a public hearing to address its draft proposed COVID-19 Permanent Standard (“Permanent Standard”). At the hearing, the...more
On April 21, 2022, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board adopted the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). Sheppard Mullin previously wrote...more
At its upcoming April 21, 2022 meeting, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) Standards Board will decide whether to readopt the fourth iteration of its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards...more
4/11/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Masks ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
For the second time, the standards-setting board for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has readopted, with revisions, the agency’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards...more
1/4/2022
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Masks ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In our annual California Legislative Update, we briefly explained that SB 606 expanded the enforcement authority of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) in various ways. With the new law’s...more
12/31/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
What Happened? I Thought This Was Gone!
On Friday, December 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted the nationwide Stay that had been previously put in place by the United States Court of...more
12/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Masks ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, in response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”). You can read...more
12/22/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
OSHA ,
Stays ,
Time Extensions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On September 27, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 62, also known as the Garment Worker Protection Act, into law. SB 62 makes California the first state to require an hourly minimum wage for garment workers by...more
10/20/2021
/ California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Newsom ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Workers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Wage and Hour
On March 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched its new COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (“NEP”). The new OSHA directive outlines policies and procedures for minimizing worker...more
3/23/2021
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Inspection Rights ,
NEP ,
New Guidance ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workplace Safety
For much of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many California employees have utilized leave entitlements through federal, state, and local paid sick leave statutes and ordinances. As of December 31, 2020, however, the federal...more
1/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
California retailers facing a variety of complications from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic now have one additional obstacle to tackle: compliance with new emergency standards from California’s Division of Occupational Safety...more
12/9/2020
/ Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Rule ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Quarantine ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 19, 2020, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board unanimously adopted emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 prevention in the workplace. For much of the pandemic, California’s Division of...more
On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 685 into law, establishing new requirements for employers to notify employees and their unions about a potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace. The new...more
9/23/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cal-OSHA ,
CDPH ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement ,
Governor Newsom ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Notice Requirements ,
Privacy Policy ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Workplace Outbreaks ,
Written Notice
On September 19, 2020, California’s new law requiring large employers to provide employees with COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (“CSPSL”) becomes effective. The new CSPSL requirement will be codified as Labor Code...more
9/21/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DLSE ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Workplace Safety
On July 2, 2020, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published an FAQ web page based on COVID-19 related inquiries that the agency received from the public. The FAQ page provides a central...more
On June 17, 2020, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued its “Guidance on Returning to Work.” This new guidance is intended to supplement the previous “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for...more
6/26/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Management ,
Screening Procedures ,
Workplace Safety