OSHA
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EPA Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Impacts for Ongoing Cleanups
Following up on its March 26, 2020 temporary enforcement policy, on April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an interim guidance regarding new or ongoing cleanup activities during the COVID-19 situation. The interim guidance focuses on decision making at emergency response and longer term cleanups sites where EPA is the lead agency… Continue reading
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OSHA to Most Employers: Limited Exemption from Recording Requirement for Employees’ COVID 19 Cases
On April 10, 2020, US OSHA partially retracted its initial instructions to employers, which had required employers to evaluate employees who contracted COVID‑19 as potential recordable occupational illnesses under OSHA’s injury/illness recordkeeping rules, 29 CFR Part 1904. Continue reading
CFR § 1904.5, community transmission, coronavirus, COVID-19, employer, enforcement discretion, fatal, healthcare, injury/illness, Limited Exemption, OSHA, OSHA 300 logs, recordable occupational illnesses, recording criteria, Recording Requirement, recordkeeping violation, reduce risk, Virus, work-related illness, work-related incident -
OSHA to Employers: Some Relief from Respiratory Protection Rules in the Face of N95 Shortages
By Gabrielle Sigel, Co-Chair, Environmental and Workplace Health and Safety Law Practice On April 3, 2020, U.S. OSHA issued two Enforcement Guidance memos which, for the first time, provide guidance to all industries, including healthcare, regarding how to comply with OSHA rules in the face of N95 shortages. The first document is entitled “Enforcement Guidance… Continue reading
29 CFR §1910.134; Respiratory Standard, China-certified, coronavirus, employee, Employer obligation, extended use, FIFRA, foreign-certified, health care, homemade masks, N95 Shortage, non-essential operation, OSHA, respirator fit-testing, respiratory hazard, Respiratory Protection Program, reuse, RPP, shelf life, work practice, Worksite -
EPA’s Temporary Enforcement Discretion Policy for COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a temporary policy regarding EPA enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler stated that the “EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment, but recognizes challenges resulting from efforts to protect workers and the public from… Continue reading
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Does the OSH Act Give an Employee the Right to Refuse to Work Due to Fear of Workplace COVID-19 Exposure?
Responding to COVID‑19, many state and local governments are issuing orders encouraging or requiring workers to stay at home (“Stay-At-Home Order”) unless their employment is deemed to be in an “essential business” or “critical infrastructure industry.” Continue reading
29 U.S.C. § 654, 29 CFR § 1977, 29 U.S.C. § 660(c)(2), anti-retaliation provision, coronavirus, COVID-19, critical infrastructure industry, employee, employer, essential business, General Duty Clause, OSH Act, OSHA, public health crisis, refusal to work, retaliation, Section 5(a)(1), stay-at-home order, Workers’ Right to Refuse Dangerous Work, Workplace -
Does Environmental Investigation and Remediation Continue Despite COVID-19 Business Restrictions and Social Distancing?
As the United States rapidly transitions to working from home (when possible) companies involved in environmental investigations or remediation work must determine whether such field or other work could, should, or must continue in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Continue reading
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White House and Congress Use Liability Immunity to Address the Shortage of Respirators in Healthcare Settings
Due to COVID-19, the nation’s healthcare industry is facing a severe shortage of respiratory protection equipment for healthcare workers. Both Congress and the White House have recently taken steps to try to address that shortage by enacting liability immunity under the Families First Coronavirus Response law, signed late on March 18, 2020. These provisions protect… Continue reading
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OSHA Issues Temporary Enforcement Guidance on Healthcare Employers’ Requirements for Fit-Testing of Respirators
One of the current Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on center stage as a result of the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR § 1910.134 (“the Standard”). Continue reading
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U.S. OSHA Issues Guidance for Employers Regarding Preparing for COVID-19 Risks
On March 9, 2020, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19,” (“Guidance”) compiling best practices and existing regulatory standards for evaluating and preparing for risks to workers from exposure to the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. OSHA urges that, “it is important for all employers to plan now… Continue reading
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Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Key Endangered Species Act FOIA Case
On Monday, March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to a petition from two U.S. federal agencies attempting to block the release of certain agency decision-making documents under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). The agencies’ petition followed a determination by the Ninth Circuit that certain “draft” documents created by the agencies… Continue reading