By A. Scott HeckerAdam R. YoungPatrick D. JoyceJames L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 14, 2023, we attended a webinar presented by U.S. DOL Solicitor Seema Nanda, DOL Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Jessica Looman, DOL Occupational Safety and Health Administration Assistant Secretary Doug Parker, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo

Continue Reading Looking to Prevent and Address Workplace Retaliation, Government Leaders from DOL, NLRB, and EEOC Present Employers with “Best Practices”

By A. Scott HeckerAdam R. YoungPatrick D. JoyceJames L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On its website, OSHA is highlighting the hazards of working in winter weather and providing resources for employers to help protect their workers. 

Employers must remember that weather-based hazards exist not only in the heat and humidity

Continue Reading From Snowmageddon to Snowpocalypse: OSHA Highlights Potential Winter Weather Hazards

By Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: With Hurricane Ian drenching the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Atlantic coastal states, employers are facing daunting emergencies, safety and health risks, property damage, employee disruption, and re-building.  

This blog contains an updated primer on (1) preparing for an emergency;
Continue Reading The Rain is Coming Again: Disaster Preparedness, Recovery, and Employee Safety During Hurricane Season

By A. Scott HeckerAdam R. YoungJames L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is highlighting those employed through staffing agencies, generally called temporary or supplied workers, on its homepage. “Temporary workers” are workers supplied to a host employer and paid by a staffing agency, whether or not
Continue Reading OSHA Focuses on Temporary Worker Employer Responsibilities and Guidance

By Adam R. YoungMelissa A. Ortega, A. Scott HeckerJames L. CurtisBrent I. ClarkBenjamin D. Briggs, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 11, 2022, the CDC, through a press release, eased its COVID-19 guidance to “help us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer
Continue Reading CDC Eases COVID-19 Guidelines

By Adam R. Young, Brent I. Clark, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA is rolling out an aggressive COVID-19 enforcement program to inspect “high hazard” employers, as well as re-inspect those healthcare employers who have received COVID-19 complaints in the past. 

In March 2022 at the ABA OSHA conference, OSHA enforcement leadership publicly declared the “COVID-19
Continue Reading COVID-19 “Endemic” is Not Over: OSHA is Opening New COVID-19 Programmed Inspections

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 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