The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is finally poised to implement a permanent COVID-19 safety standard for healthcare employers, nearly three years after the pandemic first began in the United States.
Continue Reading Better Late Than Never – OSHA Is Finalizing COVID Rules Nearly Three Years into the Pandemic
California COVID-19 safety rules are here to stay.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted on December 15 to enact a new COVID-19 prevention regulation that imposes a number of familiar workplace safety requirements on California employers. The regulations will become effective in mid-January 2023 after a 30-day review period and remain in effect for at least two years.
Continue Reading New Regulation Extends CalOSHA COVID Enforcement into 2025 and Beyond
Dozens of business groups submitted comments on December 7 to oppose the National Labor Relations Board’s proposed joint employer rule, arguing it would interfere with business-to-business contracting and needlessly entangle companies in collective bargaining negotiations related to employees they do not control.
Continue Reading Business Groups Oppose NLRB’s Proposed Far-Reaching Joint Employer Rule
The Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) announced major changes to its COVID-19 guidance on August 13, providing additional flexibility for employers seeking a return to normal operations after the pandemic.
Continue Reading Closer to Normal? CDC Guidance Revisions Provide Employers More Flexibility
On June 8, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an Order with definitions for “close contact” and “infectious period” that conflict and abrogate the definitions for these terms within the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) current COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Employers must comply with the new CDPH definitions, even where they differ from the text of the California ETS or federal Centers for Disease Control guidance.
Continue Reading New “Close Contact” and “Infectious Period” Definitions Modify Compliance with Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS
Employers across numerous industries may soon face additional recordkeeping and reporting obligations based on a new rule proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Continue Reading OSHA Proposes More Changes to Recordkeeping Rules
The National Labor Relations Board indicated in January that it may reconsider its legal standard for assessing whether employer work rules violate the National Labor Relations Act, and invited amicus briefs on the subject. Several business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, filed briefs on March 8, 2022 urging the Board to maintain its existing standard under The Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017).
Continue Reading Business Groups Oppose NLRB’s Efforts to Change Work Rules Standard
The Supreme Court has granted a temporary stay of the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), otherwise known as the OSHA vaccine mandate. The Court ruled that OSHA had exceeded the authority delegated to it by Congress under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In making this finding, the Court held that OSHA only has the authority to issue workplace safety standards, not broad health measures. The concurring opinion focused upon the “major questions doctrine,” which requires Congress to speak clearly when delegating authority of “vast economic and political significance” to an administrative agency.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Weighs In On Vaccination Mandate
On December 16, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Cal/OSHA”) adopted revisions to the current COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). The Cal/OSHA ETS were first approved on November 30, 2020, adopted again with modifications on June 17, 2021, and recently readopted with additional revisions. The newest version of the ETS will go into effect on January 14, 2022, and will apply to all non-remote workers in California except those covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard, such as healthcare workers.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Adopts Newly Revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards Impacting Employers and Workers
On November 10, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum outlining employers’ bargaining obligations with respect to compliance with OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers from Coronavirus (“ETS”).
Continue Reading NLRB General Counsel Issues Memo Regarding Bargaining Obligations for Vaccine Mandate