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
On September 15, 2022, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced an update to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (“OSHA”) Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”).
Continue Reading DOL Updates OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program
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
The U.S. Equal Employment Commission (“EEOC”) has recently updated its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers, “What You Should Know About COVID-10 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” (“Q&A) and taken the position that employers may only screen employees for COVID-19 if it is a business necessity that is justified by “current pandemic circumstances and individual workplace circumstances” because a COVID-19 viral test is a medical examination within the meaning of the ADA.
Continue Reading EEOC States Employers Must Show Business Necessity to Test Workers for COVID-19
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
On May 7, 2022, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Cal/OSHA”) released guidance, in the form of updated FAQs and fact sheets, concerning the revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) that were adopted on April 21, 2022, and became effective on May 6, 2022. This ETS applies to non-remote workers in California, except those who work alone and those covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard, and will remain in effect until December 31, 2022.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Releases Guidance on New COVID-19 ETS Impacting Employers and Workers
On January 25, 2022, OSHA withdrew the COVID-19 vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), ending the litigation regarding the OSHA vaccine mandate.
Continue Reading OSHA Withdraws the Vaccination and Testing ETS
SB 606, which took effect January 1, 2022, greatly increases the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (“Cal/OSHA’s”) enforcement powers by creating two new violation categories – “enterprise wide” and “egregious” violations.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Enters the New Year With Expanded Enforcement Authority