Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), a 3-Commisioner panel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate which hears appeals of contested OSHA cases, issued two decisions vacating OSHA’s citations and one decision reclassifying a willful violation to a serious violation and reducing the penalty from $49,000 to just $3500. These decisions signal a trend toward holding OSHA and the Department of Labor accountable for the citations they issue to…

OSHA Law Blog

Virginia COVID-19 Restrictions and Workplace Standards Challenged by Manufacturers’ Association

By Courtney M. Malveaux

September 23, 2020

A manufacturers’ association and several employers have filed a lawsuit to enjoin Virginia’s Emergency Temporary Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention related to COVID-19, which the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted on July 15, 2020. To read the entire article, please click here.…

OSHA Law Blog

Can You Claim Employee Misconduct In an OSHA Citation?

By Courtney M. Malveaux

September 21, 2020

When Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites for a workplace injury, employers often claim employee misconduct as an affirmative defense. There are a few key points employers can keep in mind. To read the full article, click here.…

OSHA Law Blog

Assembly Bill 685 Changes Employer Notification Requirements on COVID-19 and Enhances Cal OSHA Enforcement Abilities

By Cressinda D. Schlag

September 17, 2020

On September 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 685, which requires employers to provide written notifications to employees within one business day of receiving notice of potential exposure to coronavirus (“COVID-19”). AB 685 also authorizes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) to prohibit operations, processes, and prevent entry into workplaces that it has determined present a risk of infection to COVID-19 so severe as to constitute an imminent hazard.…

OSHA Law Blog

Have You Started Your COVID-19 Training and Infectious Disease Plan In Virginia?

By Courtney M. Malveaux

September 8, 2020

Virginia recently enacted its Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19. The standard’s requirement that employers train workers came and went on August 26, 2020. Virginia Occupational Safety and Health expects employers to complete their Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plans no later than September 25, 2020. To view the complete article, please click here.…

OSHA Law Blog

More Guidance on COVID-19 Response Measures for FDA Regulated Human and Animal Food Operations

By Cressinda D. Schlag

August 31, 2020

To help employers in regulated human and animal food operations navigate ongoing challenges from the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) have joined in publishing the sixteen page “Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (“Checklist”). Without adding new guidance, the Checklist offers food employers with…

OSHA Law Blog

Wildfires Present Challenges for California Employers

By Cressinda D. Schlag

August 26, 2020

As fire season starts and some areas of California and several other states are attempting to contain wildfires, employers need to consider their obligations to employees. In some circumstances, employers must implement a variety of controls to protect employees from wildfire smoke, including engineering and administrative controls, or require the use of personal protective equipment (“PPE”). Employers may also have employees’ leaves of absence and wage compliance issues to consider. Read our full article on …

OSHA Law Blog

Cal OSHA issues Updated Infection Prevention Guidance for Agricultural Employers

By Cressinda D. Schlag

August 10, 2020

To assist with protecting the essential workers who work in the agricultural industry, California’s Department Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) issued updated guidance on coronavirus (“COVID-19”) infection prevention procedures for employers in the agricultural industry. Read our full article on the guidance here.…

OSHA Law Blog

House Members Promoting Legislation to Compel MSHA to Issue Emergency Temporary Standard for Pandemic Safety

By Brian P. Lundgren

July 28, 2020

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) has declined to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) to address pandemic safety for miners. MSHA determined that issuance of an ETS was unnecessary for COVID-19 because MSHA’s existing health and safety standards allow MSHA to require mine operators to take action to abate COVID-19 health hazards in mines. Recently the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a union’s request for the …

OSHA Law Blog

OSHA Publishes, Then Withdraws, A Broad Position on Reporting COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Fatalities

By Gillian G. W. Egan

July 27, 2020

OSHA quietly updated its COVID-19 FAQs in mid-July to add guidance that took an extremely broad (and arguably unenforceable) interpretation of an employer’s responsibility to report COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities. Just as quietly, over the last weekend in July, it removed the updated Reporting FAQs. Now employers are left to speculate whether the guidance is gone for good, or whether they need to be on the alert for the guidance to return. Under 29 C.F.R.…

OSHA Law Blog

Insight & Commentary on Occupational Safety & Health Issues

Blog Authors

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Issues Spate of Pro-Employer Decisions

Virginia COVID-19 Restrictions and Workplace Standards Challenged by Manufacturers’ Association

Can You Claim Employee Misconduct In an OSHA Citation?

Assembly Bill 685 Changes Employer Notification Requirements on COVID-19 and Enhances Cal OSHA Enforcement Abilities

Have You Started Your COVID-19 Training and Infectious Disease Plan In Virginia?

More Guidance on COVID-19 Response Measures for FDA Regulated Human and Animal Food Operations

Wildfires Present Challenges for California Employers

Cal OSHA issues Updated Infection Prevention Guidance for Agricultural Employers

House Members Promoting Legislation to Compel MSHA to Issue Emergency Temporary Standard for Pandemic Safety

OSHA Publishes, Then Withdraws, A Broad Position on Reporting COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Fatalities

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