Workplace Safety and Health Archives

New Year, New Legislative Session Greets Florida Employers

Florida’s 2020 legislative session convened today in Tallahassee. This session will be one to watch, as over 20 workplace-related bills have already been filed, covering such topics as discrimination and retaliation, minimum wage and overtime pay, pre-employment verification and background screening, reemployment assistance, tax credits and refunds, job relocation, job protections for medical marijuana users, paid family leave, and heat illness prevention.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

U.S. Senate Confirms OSHRC Nominees

On January 9, 2020, the U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote both of President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Cynthia L. Attwood was first to be confirmed, followed shortly thereafter by Amanda Wood Laihow. The confirmations come as no surprise, as the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions unanimously approved both candidates on December 3, 2019.

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

Davis Jenkins Washington D.C. Author

OSHA Doubles Down on National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released an updated National Emphasis Program (NEP) to focus enforcement efforts on amputation hazards in manufacturing industries. It replaces the previous NEP, released in August 2015, which had expired on September 30, 2019. The new NEP will expire on December 10, 2024.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

Senate HELP Committee Approves Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Nominees

On December 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) unanimously approved President Donald Trump’s two nominees to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

Davis Jenkins Washington D.C. Author

“Caring for Our Caregivers”: House Passes Unprecedented Workplace Violence Prevention Bill

On November 21, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution (HR) 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, in a 251-158 vote.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Employers’ Obligations in Light of California’s Wildfire Smoke Regulation

The California wildfire smoke regulation, an emergency regulation that took effect on July 30, 2019, is scheduled to become permanent on January 28, 2020. In the wake of the wildfires that have emerged throughout California, employers may want to become familiar with the regulation’s requirements.

Kevin D. Bland Orange County Author

Jennifer Yanni Orange County Author

Three’s Company: OSHRC’s Third Panel Seat to Be Filled Soon

On October 15, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Cynthia L. Attwood to serve as a commissioner on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC).

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

Davis Jenkins Washington D.C. Author

OSHRC Soon to Have Quorum for Decision-Making

On October 9, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Amanda Wood Laihow to serve as the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s (OSHRC) second commissioner. That addition will give the commission its first quorum in five months and enable it to decide the cases pending before it.

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

Davis Jenkins Washington D.C. Author

California Implements Wildfire Smoke Regulations

On July 30, 2019, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced that its “emergency regulation requiring employers to protect workers from hazards associated with wildfire smoke is now in effect, following its approval yesterday by the [California] Office of Administrative Law.”

Karen F. Tynan Sacramento Author

Florida Adds Vaping to Regulated Indoor Smoking

The Florida legislature recently amended the “Indoor Air: Tobacco Smoke” Act, §386.202 of the Florida Statutes, to restrict indoor vaping in addition to tobacco smoking in enclosed spaces. The amended act is now known as the “Indoor Air: Smoking and Vaping” Act. The new law went into effect on July 1, 2019.

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

Don’t Slip Up: When Are California Employers Required to Pay for Employees’ Shoes?

A hot-button issue in California is whether an employer is required to pay for or reimburse an employee for shoes that are required as a condition of employment. A recent ruling by the California Court of Appeal highlights the complexity of the issue and lack of concrete guidance on a critical question: whether California workplace safety law requires an employer to pay for nonspecialty safety shoes, such as generic steel-toe boots, that the employer allows the employee to wear off the jobsite.

Karen F. Tynan Sacramento Author

Robert C. Rodriguez Sacramento Author

Court: Employers Can’t Stall Subpoenas to Run Out OSHA’s Enforcement Clock

Employers consider many factors when choosing whether to challenge investigatory subpoenas. They now have an additional consideration: whether a court might grant the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) more time to issue a citation if the employer challenges a subpoena.

Arthur G. Sapper Washington D.C. Author

6 FAQs on Measles in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know

On May 17, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 880 individual cases of measles had been confirmed in 23 states across the country in 2019. According to the CDC, the current outbreak of measles represents the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since 1994 and since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.

Katherine Dudley Helms Columbia Author

Scott Mugno Withdraws as OSHA Nominee

Scott A. Mugno, President Trump’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, withdrew his name from consideration in a letter submitted on May 14, 2019, to the White House and to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

Draft California Regulations for Nighttime Agricultural Operations Up for Vote at Standards Board

On April 18, 2019, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will consider an update to the regulations governing nighttime agriculture operations at its monthly meeting. In 2013, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (or Cal/OSHA) asked for a revised regulation because of prior accidents or fatalities that occurred during the darkness of nighttime agriculture operations.

Karen F. Tynan Sacramento Author

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commissioners Confirmed

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is back in business as it will soon have a quorum again to decide cases. The Commission plays an important role in mine safety and health law. The Commission establishes precedential case law when it decides appeals of administrative law judge decisions in Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cases, including citation contests and discrimination cases.

Margaret S. Lopez Washington D.C. Author

Caring for Our Caregivers: House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Healthcare Workplace Violence Bill

On February 27, 2019, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on House Resolution 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, introduced by Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT).

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Three Noteworthy OSHA Cases from 2018

The year 2018 saw the issuance of several noteworthy federal workplace safety and health decisions.

Eric E. Hobbs Milwaukee Author

OSHA Whistleblower Claims Are Up: Are Employers Prepared?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the government agency responsible for enforcing the whistleblower retaliation provisions of numerous laws protecting workers in a wide-range of industries.

Brodie D. Erwin Raleigh Author

OSHA Releases Revisions to Electronic Recordkeeping Rule

On January 25, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published in the Federal Register its revisions to its electronic recordkeeping rules.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

Cal/OSHA News and Reminders

Here are a few of the recent developments affecting workplace safety and health law in California.

Kevin D. Bland Orange County Author

Karen F. Tynan Sacramento Author

It’s Flu Season Again . . . Are Your Mandatory Vaccination Policies Immune to Legal Challenges?

With flu season here and reported incidents of deaths caused by diseases thought to have been eradicated by vaccines on the rise, many healthcare providers are considering mandatory vaccination of employees.

Katherine Dudley Helms Columbia Author

A 2019 L&E Forecast for In-House Counsel, Part I: A Workplace Safety Issue on the Horizon

In 2019, general counsels can expect the debate to rage on over the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposal to rescind the requirement that large employers electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301, which contain individual employees’ private medical history data.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare and Social Service: Calling OSHA to Action

On November 16, 2018, Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced House Resolution 7141, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Cal/OSHA Alert: Proposed Regulations to Prevent Indoor Heat Illness

Over a decade after California adopted its outdoor heat illness regulations, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is inching closer to adopting regulations titled “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment.”

Sean Paisan Orange County Author

Cal/OSHA to Expand Workplace Violence Regulations to a General Industry Standard

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is seeking to expand its workplace violence regulations, which currently regulate healthcare facilities, to a general industry standard, which would affect employers in all industries.

Sean Paisan Orange County Author

Eleventh Circuit Limits OSHA’s Ability to Use OSHA Form 300 Logs to Obtain an Inspection Search Warrant

On October 9, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a district court’s order quashing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection warrant.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

Is OSHA Backtracking on the Anti-Retaliation Provisions in the Recordkeeping Regulation?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) added an anti-retaliation provision to the recordkeeping regulation finalized in May 2016, and it seems as if the workplace safety and health community has not stopped talking about it since.

Melissa A. Bailey Washington D.C. Author

Dig This! OSHA Renews Its Focus on Trenching and Excavation

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officially kicked off its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Trenching and Excavation on October 1, 2018. With the NEP comes enhanced enforcement, education, and a new OSHA instruction related to OSHA’s trenching and excavation standards in Subpart P of the Construction Standards.

John F. Martin Washington D.C. Author

DOL Proposes Rule to Allow Younger Workers to Operate Patient Lifts in Healthcare Settings

On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking expanding the employment, training, and apprenticeship opportunities for 16- and 17-year-olds in healthcare occupations by removing the prohibition on teen employees operating patient lifts.

Robert R. Niccolini Washington D.C. Author

Ajente Kamalanathan Washington D.C. Author

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