Signaling a renewed emphasis on workforce protections at the opening of the 116th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives has changed the name of its committee with jurisdiction over labor matters back to the Committee on Education and Labor. It was called the Committee on Education and the Workforce when Republicans held the majority in … Continue Reading
In October 2016, Governor Brown signed and approved Senate Bill 1167 which went into effect on January 1, 2017. The law directs Cal/OSHA to draft and propose heat illness and injury prevention standards for indoor workplaces by January 1, 2019. Specifically, the legislation adds Labor Code Section 6720, which states in relevant part: By January … Continue Reading
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 with OSHA as well as heightens scrutiny related to both drug testing and safety incentive programs. The Volks Rule essentially reversed the decision held in AKM … Continue Reading
Lawmakers have introduced identical legislation in both chambers of Congress to overturn a landmark decision by the National Labor Relations Board intended to broaden joint employer liability. To read the full article, written by Roger Kaplan, click here.… Continue Reading
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 contains a few surprises for employers covered by the OSH Act. To date, OSHA’s monetary penalties have not been subject to inflationary increases and, in fact, have been static since 1990. The proposed “Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015” which applies specifically to the OSH … Continue Reading
Federal OSHA’s Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements (effective January 1, 2015) require employers to report in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours. The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) regulation was intended to mirror the federal requirements but a legislative drafting error resulted in the reporting period for … Continue Reading
OSHA’s changes to recordkeeping and reporting requirements became effective January 1, 2015. The new changes require employers who are regulated by OSHA to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye within 24 hours of the incident. States with their own OSHA approved State Plans … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) requested a 7 percent budget increase for fiscal year 2016, for a total budget of $592.1 million. OSHA’s priorities for next year points decidedly towards increased enforcement. The proposed budget requested a 9 percent increase for federal enforcement and a 3 percent increase for state plan enforcement. OSHA’s enforcement budget … Continue Reading
California Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1634 into law on September 20, 2014, a new bill that significantly changes an employer’s obligations to abate alleged workplace safety and health hazards in California and reduces the ability of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) to make modifications to civil penalties. When the new law … Continue Reading
President Obama recently issued the Department of Labor’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2015. As part of the budget request to Congress, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking a total budget of $565 million, which is an increase of $12.7 million from the enacted FY 2014 budget. OSHA is also requesting … Continue Reading
Representative George Miller (D-CA) recently reintroduced a bill (H.R. 1649) that would provide whistleblower protections to certain workers in the offshore oil and gas industry. The bill was first introduced in 2010 and again in 2011. … Continue Reading
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) recently reintroduced a bill that would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The proposed Protecting America’s Workers Act (“PAWA”) (S. 665) would expand coverage to more workers, increase whistleblower protections, significantly enhance the civil and criminal penalties issued against employers for violations, and would provide rights to victims … Continue Reading
OSHA recently issued its long-awaited regulatory agenda. The agenda is designed to provide stakeholders with notice of what major regulatory initiatives the agency is planning and the projected timetables for those initiatives. OSHA’s agenda is the first issued in several months by the agency and provides a glimpse into the regulatory priorities – in President … Continue Reading
Joining a growing number of states and localities across the country, Nevada has banned cell phone use while driving. Click here for the full story. … Continue Reading
Click here to read this recent Jackson Lewis article on a new Connecticut law requiring health care employers to develop and implement plans, policies, and training programs to prevent and respond to workplace violence incidents. Putting aside the issue of whether such a law is preempted by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, health … Continue Reading
OSHA is 40 this year and the Agency is looking back on its history and "celebrating" its accomplishments. OSHA recently issued a timeline that stretches all the way back to December 29, 1970, when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed, and highlights Agency accomplishments up to the present. Not surprisingly, the timeline is heavily populated … Continue Reading
A new state law makes it easier for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to classify workplace safety violations as “serious” for purposes of issuing citations and proposed penalties to employers. Assembly Bill 2774, signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2010, broadens the definition of “serious violation” and establishes specific procedures for Cal/OSHA … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, July 21, the House Education and Labor Committee approved "H.R. 5663, The Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act." While this bill is primarily focused on overhauling mine safety laws, one section would make drastic changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. If enacted, these changes will have a significant impact on employers across the country. Some of … Continue Reading
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has signed into law the “Possession of Firearms and Ammunition in Locked Vehicles Law.” The law bars employers from adopting any rule or policy prohibiting employees, including contract employees, from storing firearms and ammunition out-of-sight in their locked vehicles. Effective July 1, 2010, the law applies only to persons who may … Continue Reading
Over the past three months, the media has been fixated on concussions in professional football players. Some of the National Football League’s top players – Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner, Clinton Portis – have recently been sidelined for concussions sustained on the playing field. After Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers was held out for an important game against … Continue Reading
Employers may be required to provide seven days of paid sick time per year under a bill introduced in Congress. The measure, titled the Pandemic Protection for Workers, Families, and Businesses Act (H.R. 4092/S. 2790), was introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) in the House and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) in the Senate on the … Continue Reading
As concern over H1N1 and influenza-related illnesses continues to spread, legislation that would require employers to provide up to five days of paid sick leave per year to workers afflicted with influenza or other, similar contagious illness has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill applies to employers with 15 or more employees … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama has announced he intends to nominate Professor David Michaels to be the Assistant Secretary of OSHA. Professor Michaels is the interim chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health in Washington, D.C. If confirmed, Professor Michaels will join Acting Assistant Secretary of OSHA Jordan … Continue Reading
Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.) has once again introduced in the House of Representatives a bill that would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to promulgate a safe patient handling and injury prevention standard. The “Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009” has reignited the debate over the proper approach to ensuring employee … Continue Reading
