Manufacturing employers continue to feel the brunt of emerging and evolving trends related to the COVID-19 pandemic: workplace safety, labor shortages, absence management, remote technology, and employee retention — just to name a few. On the workplace safety front, mask mandates, testing protocols, and vaccine issues continue to make headlines, including President Joe Biden’s September
OSHA Rulemaking
Manufacturers Can Expect Emphasis on Prevention of Heat Illness in Workplaces
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had announced this spring its intention to implement a new heat illness standard that will apply to indoor environments. Now, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced “enhanced and expanded” efforts to address heat-related illnesses as part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to workplace safety, climate resilience,…
President’s Path Out of the Pandemic Adds Hurdles for Employers
On September 9, 2021, the White House issued Path Out of the Pandemic: President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan (the Plan). The Plan outlines a six-pronged approach, portions of which will impose new obligations on employers across the country.
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OSHA’s Heat Standard Likely to Affect Indoor Manufacturing Facilities
This past spring, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its intention to implement a new heat illness standard that will apply to indoor environments. The agency said it has manufacturing facilities in mind, as the rule targets “indoor workers without climate-controlled environments.”
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OSHA Standard Changes That Will Impact Construction
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory agenda for spring 2021 lists regulations the agency will focus on for the next six months, including 26 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, six of which are in the final rule stage and the rest are in the proposed or pre-rule stage. Many of them will…
OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard Effective, With Enforcement Delays
After releasing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 for healthcare employers on June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it is publishing the ETS in the Federal Register on June 21, 2021.
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OSHA Promulgates Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 for Healthcare Employers
Fifteen months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has promulgated an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for healthcare employers. OSHA has published voluntary guidance for other industries.
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Despite Relaxed CDC COVID-19 Guidance, No Relaxing of Rules (Yet) in California, Virginia
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has offered new COVID-19 guidance indicating that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks or maintain physical distance from others in most settings. However, questions about employers’ compliance obligations and general duty expectations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) remain.…
OSHA Taking Its Time to Issue COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was directed under an executive order to promulgate an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to address COVID-19 no later than March 15, 2021. It has yet to do so.
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Inspector General Office Report Criticizes OSHA COVID-19 Enforcement, Pushes for COVID-19 Standard
Criticizing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enforcement efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (OIG) pushes for a COVID-19, virus-specific standard in its report issued on February 25, 2021.
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