By: Adam R. Young, Patrick D. JoyceJames L. CurtisMark A. Lies, II, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a National Emphasis Program to protect “millions of workers from heat illness and injuries. Through the program, OSHA will conduct heat-related workplace inspections before workers suffer
Continue Reading Vice President Harris Announces New OSHA Emphasis Program for Heat Illness

By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The rate of positive drug test results among America’s workforce reached its highest rate in 2021 since 2001, and was up more than 30% in the combined U.S. workforce from an all-time low in 2010-2012, according to a new analysis released by Quest Diagnostics
Continue Reading Workforce Drug Test Positivity Climbs to Highest Level in Two Decades

By Benjamin D. BriggsA. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: CDC’s new COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation calculator “takes the stress out of deciding when, and for how long, individuals with COVID-19 and close contacts need to stay home, get tested, and wear a well-fitting mask.”

The new CDC calculator may
Continue Reading CDC Publishes New Quarantine and Isolation Calculator

By Erin Dougherty Foley and James Nasiri*

Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 11, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court order granting a steel producer’s motion for summary judgment on disability discrimination claims filed by a job applicant whose conditional offer was rescinded. The Court’s ruling offers valuable insights into an employer’s duties
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Finds that Steel Worker with Uncontrolled Seizure Disorder Would Pose a Direct Threat to Workplace Safety

By Chantelle C. EganBernard OlshanskyPatrick D. Joyce, and Ilana Morady

Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 28, 2022, California’s Governor Newsom issued a press release lifting California’s mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings, downgrading the former requirement to a strong recommendation, effective March 1, 2022.  The same day, the California Department of Public Health
Continue Reading California Loosens Indoor Masking Requirements for the Unvaccinated

By James L. Curtis, Brent I. ClarkMark A. LiesAdam YoungPatrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that “U.S. healthcare workers experienced a staggering 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, based on employer-reported data, as
Continue Reading OSHA To Address Soaring Injury Rates at Healthcare Facilities

By Daniel I.Small and Robert S.Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: This week, Governor Hochul announced that she will lift the mask-or-vaccinate mandate for nearly all public places of business on February 10, 2022.  The New York Department of Labor has now revised its model safety plan under the HERO Act to eliminate the mask requirement in most settings.  Other HERO Act
Continue Reading UPDATED: New York Lifts Mask-or-Vax Mandate and HERO Act Masking Requirement

By A. Scott Hecker, Brent I. ClarkJames L. CurtisMark A. LiesAdam R. YoungPatrick D. Joyce, Daniel R. Birnbaum and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has withdrawn its private employer COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS, effective Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, the federal Occupational Safety
Continue Reading OSHA Acknowledges Reality; Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS

By Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. BriggsMark A. Lies, Bradley D. Doucette, and Ilana R. Morady

Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court stayed enforcement of OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), pending
Continue Reading OSHA ETS Stayed Again — Supreme Court Characterizes ETS as Public Health Measure Outside of OSHA’s Jurisdiction

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