News & Analysis as of September 20, 2024

Occupational Safety and Health Administration › Obama Administration

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The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is a United States federal agency established in 1970 by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. OSHA is part of the Department of Labor and is charged with assuring healthy, safe, working environments. OSHA sets and enforces safety standards and policies. Examples of OSHA's duties include setting limits on workers' exposure to hazardous substances, ensuring workers have access to safety information and protective equipment, and providing employers and workers proper training to prevent dangerous conditions. less -

Industry Groups and Congressional Leaders Attack OSHA’s New “Worker Walkaround” Inspection Rule

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 6/10/2024

To advance the Biden Administration’s promise to be “the most labor friendly administration in history,” on April 1, 2024, OSHA published in the Federal Register its Final Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process...more

OSHA Signals Rulemaking to Broaden Scope of Who Is Permitted to Accompany Compliance Officers During Worksite Inspections

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/21/2023

In February 2013, during the early months of the second term of the Obama administration, a standard interpretation related to Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations at 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c) that later became known as...more

Biden Administration Poised to Provide Union Organizers with Another Tool for Their Toolbox: The OSHA Inspection

BakerHostetler on 3/20/2023

In January 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revived a rule that would permit worker-designated representatives to accompany OSHA during the inspection process, regardless of whether the...more

U.S. Labor Department Stops Issuing Press Releases on Employer Citations

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 10/30/2020

During the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Labor began regularly issuing press releases when an employer received a major Occupational Safety and Health Administration citation or overtime assessment. The press...more

OSHA Memorandum Clarifies Employer’s Right To Conduct Post-Accident Drug And Alcohol Testing

Troutman Pepper on 11/21/2018

Q. Are there any limitations on my company’s ability to require employees to submit to drug and alcohol testing after an accident? A. In May 2016, OSHA published a final rule that, among other things, amended the...more

D.C. Circuit Rejects All Industry Challenges to OSHA’s New Silica Standards

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 12/27/2017

On Friday, December 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected all of American industry’s many challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new silica dust...more

[Webinar] Regulatory Update: OSHA's PSM Standard & EPA's RMP Rule - December 12th, 1:00pm ET

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 11/27/2017

Following the tragic West Fertilizer explosion in 2013, Pres. Obama issued an Executive Order directing OSHA, EPA and other agencies to “modernize” the manner in which the government regulates chemical manufacturing...more

[Webinar] OSHA Fatality and Injury Reporting Rule: Lessons Learned - November 14th, 1:00PM ET

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 10/31/2017

The Obama Administration rolled-out a major change to OSHA’s Fatality & Injury Reporting Rule, which resulted in thousands of more reports of incidents to OSHA. Now, three years into the new reporting scheme, this webinar...more

[Webinar] OSHA Interpretations and Variances: Regulatory Strategies Resurrected in a Trump Administration - June 6th, 1:00pm ET

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 5/23/2017

A new world has just taken hold in Washington, DC, and with it, we expect OSHA to be much more open to employers’ views how regulatory programs should apply in their workplaces. This opens the door to regulatory strategies...more

OSHA Announces Delay To Electronic Recordkeeping Rule - Scheduled Implementation Date Of July 1 Is Now Off The Table

Fisher Phillips on 5/19/2017

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

[Webinar] A Review of the DOL's Major 2016 Regulatory Initiatives and How (and / or Whether) those will be Implemented in the...

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 3/8/2017

The Department of Labor was extremely active in 2016 as President Obama’s second term came to a close. From more than doubling the threshold salary level to be classified as an exempt employee to requiring employers provide...more

What Can Employers Glean from the DOE’s and the DOJ’s Position on the Provision of Transgender Bathrooms under Title IX?

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. on 2/28/2017

On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance issued by the Department of Education on January 7, 2015 and...more

Signs that OSHA Priorities are Shifting Under the Trump Administration?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 2/22/2017

There are new developments related to OSHA’s Electronic Recordkeeping Rule and the Volks Rule. As a reminder, the Electronic Recordkeeping Rule requires certain employers to electronically file their OSHA recordkeeping data...more

Plan to Trump Obama Administration Regulations of Employers Already Underway

Poyner Spruill LLP on 2/14/2017

As the 115th Congress begins its term, certain regulations that went into effect during the Obama Administration are under fire due to an obscure rule. Congress passed the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in 1996 to block...more

President Trump’s “One In, Two Out” Executive Order Signals Regulatory and Employment Policy Shift

Burr & Forman on 2/8/2017

Amidst a first-week flurry of executive orders on trade, immigration, and construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at peeling back many Obama-era regulations. On...more

OSHA’s New Chemical NEP: Serious Violations Preferred and EPA Referrals Encouraged

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 1/26/2017

On January 17, 2017, the outgoing administration left one last gift for the Process Safety Management (PSM) community: a new national emphasis inspection program. As the compliance directive notes, “Any violation of the PSM...more

Make Congress Great Again?

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 1/18/2017

During its first week in session, the 115th Congress passed two bills aimed at reining in the executive branch’s powers. If signed into law, these bills could significantly impact employers who have faced myriad rulemakings...more

[Webinar] Top 5 OSHA Issues to Track in 2017 - January 25th, 1:00pm EST

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on 1/10/2017

The ball has dropped, the confetti has been swept out of Times Square, and 2016 (and the Obama Administration) is in the books. It is time to look back at the year and take stock of what we learned from and about OSHA over...more

Workplace Policy Institute Insider Report - December 2016

Littler on 12/5/2016

Littler's WPI Insider Report details key labor, employment, and benefits news and events at the federal, state, local, and global levels. The December edition of the Insider Report discusses recent efforts to block...more

The Election is Over, Now What?

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 11/22/2016

Now that the election is over, many clients and friends are asking what labor and employment law might look like under the soon to be President Trump. Of course, no one can predict exactly what will happen in the coming term....more

OSHA Enforcement in the Final Year of the Obama Administration

Williams Mullen on 4/28/2016

Although the Obama Administration is well into its last year, it is signaling no let-up in its aggressive environmental and occupational safety and health enforcement agendas. Indeed, continuation of or even more stringent...more

Environmental Notes - April 2016

Williams Mullen on 4/27/2016

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance recently proposed changes to its National Program Manager (NMP) Guidance that, in part, would revise EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives (“NEIs”) for federal fiscal...more

A Fast and Furious Safety, Labor and HR Update - Issue 1

Fisher Phillips on 3/28/2016

A New Approach to My Posts - Last week I was honored to be named a Top Author in J.D. Supra Readers’ Choice Awards. I write a great deal when I should probably be billing, but you guys seem to enjoy my stuff, so thanks!...more

Bipartisan Budget Deal Includes Provisions Impacting Employers

Littler on 11/3/2015

On Monday, President Obama signed into law a two-year bipartisan budget deal that has several implications for employers. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314) suspends the debt ceiling limit until March 2017, and...more

Blacklisting for Past Labor Violations -- Executive Order 13673

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 9/9/2015

Officially known as “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” Executive Order 13673 now consists of proposed guidance from the Department of Labor (DOL) and proposed regulations from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR). It...more

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration › Obama Administration

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