By Benjamin J.Conley and Adam R. Young

Seyfarth Synopsis: The OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) will require unvaccinated employees to submit weekly COVID-19 testing results by February 9, 2022. New guidance from the Biden Administration could require employer health plans to reimburse the cost of at-home COVID testing in certain circumstances, creating confusion for employers on
Continue Reading Latest Biden Administration Order Requires Some Employers to Pay for Cost of COVID Testing

By Jennifer L. Mora

Seyfarth Synopsis: Every year, employers find themselves revisiting their marijuana and drug testing policies to account for newly enacted laws at the state and local level. Now is no different. Below are some highlights of what happened in 2021.

Connecticut

On June 22, 2021, Connecticut legalized recreational marijuana use by adults 21 years and older.
Continue Reading Marijuana Laws Impacting Employers Spread Like a Weed in 2021: A Year in Review

By James L. CurtisAdam R. YoungPatrick D. Joyce, Daniel R. Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor Tweeted and blogged about the safety of workers during the busy holiday season, indicating an area of potential enforcement for OSHA in the coming weeks.

Unsurprisingly, OSHA has targeted workplace
Continue Reading Ho, Ho, Health and Safety! Keeping Workers Safe and Merry this Holiday Season

By A. Scott HeckerBrent I. ClarkBenjamin D. Briggs, James L. CurtisAdam R. YoungIlana Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) lottery selected the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to hear the consolidated legal challenges to
Continue Reading U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Selected to Rule on OSHA COVID ETS Per Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

By Adam R. YoungRobert T. Szyba, Robert S. Whitman, and  Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Department of Labor published “Frequently Asked Questions” which address occupational cannabis issues under the adult-use cannabis and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA).

New York State has legalized medical and recreational marijuana, and
Continue Reading New York Department of Labor Attempts to Prohibit Drug Testing for Cannabis, Employment Actions Against Some Employees Who are Impaired at Work

By Scott HeckerElisabeth Watson, and Karla Grossenbacher

Seyfarth SynopsisYour dedicated Seyfarth Team has created a checklist to help covered employers achieve compliance with the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) in timely fashion.

Pending legal challenges have called into question the viability of ETS, published in the Federal Register on November 5,
Continue Reading What Must Employers Do to Comply with OSHA’s ETS? Check out our Checklist for Answers

By Scott HeckerAdam YoungNoah FinkelDavid BaffaJoshua SeidmanLaura MaechtlenCamille OlsonKristin McGurnLawrence Lorber,  Brent Clark, Jim CurtisBen Briggs and Patrick D. Joyce

Seyfarth Synopsis: The much-anticipated OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) posted
Continue Reading OSHA Issues ETS for Public Inspection with January 4, 2022 Vaccination Deadline

By James L. CurtisAdam R. YoungScott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA is warning Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah that they risk a federal takeover of their worker safety programs unless they adopt a federal emergency temporary standard (ETS) protecting health-care workers from COVID -19.

OSHA published its
Continue Reading Three OSHA State Plans Under Fire for Failure to Adopt COVID Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care

By Daniel I. Small and Robert S. Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: With little fanfare and no public reporting, the New York Commissioner of Health extended the designation of COVID-19 as highly contagious, thereby requiring employers to keep their safety plans activated through October 31, 2021. 

As previously reported (herehere, and here), New York State’s health
Continue Reading NY HERO Act Update: Safety Plans Must Remain in Place

By Ilana R. Morady, Brent I. ClarkJames L. CurtisBenjamin D. Briggs, Adam R. YoungPatrick D. Joyce, Daniel R. Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 606 into law on September 27, 2021. It creates two new categories of Cal/OSHA violations: “enterprise-wide” and “egregious”. It
Continue Reading California Senate Bill 606 to Beef Up Cal/OSHA Enforcement Authorities