Wildfire Smoke and What OSHA Wants Employers to Know

On February 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of California addressed meal break periods in its opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC. In this podcast, Charles Thompson and Doug Farmer discuss the three holdings of the opinion and address the ruling’s practical implications for employers.

In this episode of Dirty Steel-Toe Boots, Phillip Russell is joined by Tom Chibnall, to discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent activity on the regulatory front, namely the new guidance on the whistleblower complaint intake pilot program. Phillip and Tom (both of whom are members of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group) discuss the potential impact of the program, including the likelihood that it will alleviate the backlog of whistleblower complaints (such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act 11(c) complaints), screen out flawed allegations, and lead to shorter investigatory timetables. Phillip and Tom also review the elements of viable 11 (c) complaints: protected activity, an adverse employment action, and a “but for” causal connection between the two.

In the third episode of our three-part podcast series on Cal/OSHA litigation, Karen Tynan and Kevin Bland discuss violations of due process such as whether Cal/OSHA workplace safety citations and notices of penalty give clear notice and provide employers with the ability to prepare a defense. In addition, the speakers discuss whether workers may be independent contractors and the ins and outs of employee misclassifications under California’s new ABC test.