In response to President Biden’s executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus. The program also prioritizes employers that retaliate… Continue reading OSHA Launches Program to Protect High-Risk Workers from COVID
Tag: OSHA
Judge Dismisses Amazon Worker Lawsuit Over Coronavirus Safety
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit against Amazon that accused the company of failing to stop the spread of the coronavirus by creating unsafe working conditions, deferring to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Four employees at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center filed the complaint in June. The lawsuit, filed in… Continue reading Judge Dismisses Amazon Worker Lawsuit Over Coronavirus Safety
Court Backs Trump Administration on Virus Safety at Work
The Trump administration does not have to issue an emergency rule requiring employers to protect workers from the coronavirus, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declared that the Labor Department’s workplace safety arm reasonably determined that… Continue reading Court Backs Trump Administration on Virus Safety at Work
The Coming Surge of Workplace Class Actions in the Wake of COVID-19
As employers begin laying the groundwork for reopening and returning their businesses to “normal,” a large threat of a different form looms on the horizon. The Plaintiffs’ bar is poised for – and has been discussing preparation of – class actions over denied wage, discrimination during furloughs and lay-offs, and exposure to unsafe working conditions.… Continue reading The Coming Surge of Workplace Class Actions in the Wake of COVID-19
OSHA Seeks Comments on Robotics’ Effect on Lockout/Tagout Rule
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is asking employers how robotics relate to the agency’s current lockout/tagout standard for industrial machinery. The OSHA lockout/tagout rule requires that all sources of energy for industrial machinery, including energy stored in the machines themselves, be controlled during service and maintenance using an energy-isolating device. The current rule prohibits… Continue reading OSHA Seeks Comments on Robotics’ Effect on Lockout/Tagout Rule
Employers Need to Be Ready for the Feb. 1 OSHA Reporting Deadline
The deadline for employers to prepare, certify and post a hard copy of their 300A annual summary of injuries and illnesses report in their workplaces for employees to see is Feb. 1—unless the business is excluded because it has fewer than 10 employees or are on a list of low-hazard industries, such as dental offices,… Continue reading Employers Need to Be Ready for the Feb. 1 OSHA Reporting Deadline