Thank you to Jonathan Schaefer for his contributions to this post. Jon focuses his practice on environmental compliance counseling, occupational health and safety, permitting, site remediation, and litigation related to federal and state regulatory programs.
On June 21, 2021, OSHA made big news by publishing its COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for the Healthcare Industry (ETS).…
On Friday, September 11, the U.S. DOL issued revised regulations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). Responding to a Federal Court’s August 4 decision invalidating four provisions in the prior regulations (see Post here), the Revised Regulations become effective September 16 and will sunset on December 31, 2020.
Adopted with lightning speed in…
A United States federal judge in Manhattan struck down four regulations issued by the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) limiting paid leave entitlements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. In his August 3, 2020 decision, Judge J. Paul Oetken found the DOL exceeded its authority (a) by determining that employees were not entitled…
This is the second of two posts dedicated to reopening plans for manufacturers. In the first post on May 26, I addressed the first two questions which every manufacturer may wish to ask as it forms its reopening plans. Manufacturing; Back to Business (Part One) (May 26, 2020). Here, I address the next four questions.…
The disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic stressed the entire manufacturing sector. For the most part, manufacturers responded to those challenges quickly and responsibly. Now that every state has begun reopening, the manufacturing sector will once again be called on to lead. Manufacturers which respond well to those challenges will thrive in the months ahead.…
As the country slowly begins the reopening process, OSHA has issued two new guidance documents—an Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19 and Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of COVID-19. Both documents go into effect on May 26, 2020, and both replace prior guidance documents adopted by OSHA on these topics.
Updated Interim…
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On October 9, 2019, President Trump issued two executive orders regarding agency guidance – one focused on the development of new guidance and the other on the appropriate use of guidance in enforcement actions. And EPA is not wasting any time taking action. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler issued a memorandum on October 21, 2019 announcing…
Thank you to my colleague, Tavo True-Alcala, for his contributions to this post. Tavo is an analyst in our Environmental & Utilities Group.
In October, OSHA released its new Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs, which were issued to incorporate the experience and advances gained since the previous set of recommendations…
In September, OSHA issued new guidance for evaluating settlement agreements between complainants and their employers to protect past and future whistleblowing activities. OSHA reviews these settlement agreements to ensure they are fair, reasonable, and entered into knowingly and voluntarily. While OSHA already has extensive whistleblower protections, this guidance provides new guidelines for approving settlement agreements…
