The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have agreed to team up to investigate and enforce protections for workers who raise safety concerns and suffer retaliation as a result.
Continue Reading NLRB and OSHA Enter Into Collaboration Agreement To Pursue Violations Implicating Both NLRA and OSH Act
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has initiated a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to prevent falls in the workplace, which OSHA states is the leading cause of workplace injuries and fatalities, ahead of violations of OSHA’s respiratory protection standard. Although most of the citations involving fall
On March 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) partially reopened the comment period to allow for additional public comment on specific topics covered by its proposed final standard to protect healthcare workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19.
Continue Reading OSHA Seeks Comments on Proposed Final Rule Protecting Healthcare Works from Occupational Exposure to COVID-19
On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision blocking the Biden administration from enforcing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) rule mandating vaccine-or-testing for large businesses.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Blocks Enforcement of OSHA Vaccine-or-Testing Mandate
Several updates related to COVID-19 vaccination mandates occurred this week at the federal and local levels. On December 17, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on the federal government’s mandate that employees of covered employers receive a COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly testing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) will begin enforcing the previously stayed Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) on January 10, 2022.
Continue Reading Hello Again: OSHA’s COVID 19 Vaccination Mandate for Private Employers is Back, and NYC has Its Own
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced new COVID-19 vaccine mandates requiring all employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly.
Continue Reading President Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination For Millions Of Employees
On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety. The order directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take action to reduce the risk that workers may contract COVID-19 in the workplace. On June 10, 2021, OSHA announced a highly-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) setting forth steps that employers in the healthcare industry must take to protect workers from COVID-19 risks while the pandemic is ongoing. The ETS will become effective 14 days after it is formally published in the Federal Register.
Continue Reading OSHA Announces COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare Industry
On January 29, 2021, OSHA posted new guidance intended to inform employers and workers in identifying risks of exposure to COVID-19. The new guidance applies to industries outside of healthcare. OSHA previously issued separate guidance applicable to healthcare and emergency response. The guidance does not create any new legal requirements or obligations, but is advisory only. OSHA intends for the guidance to assist employers with planning.
Continue Reading OSHA Issues New Guidance on COVID-19
We have seen a significant number of OSHA investigations in recent weeks in response to reports of employee deaths and illnesses due to COVID-19. In the height of the pandemic, employers, including nursing homes, were unclear regarding their obligations to report employee incidents of COVID-19 to OSHA due to the difficulty in determining whether such cases were “work-related.” Below we have outlined OSHA’s reporting requirements and expectations regarding investigations into whether COVID cases are work-related, as well as some practices in responding to OSHA investigations. Going forward, we encourage employers to ensure they are meeting OSHA requirements and are prepared to timely respond to requests for information as penalties for such violations can be significant.
Continue Reading OSHA Investigations and Employee Deaths and Cases of COVID-19