Category: News
Oregon OSHA’s Search For A New Administrator Continues; Lou Savage Named As Interim Administrator
On January 10, 2022, Oregon OSHA announced that it will change directions in its effort to hire a new Administrator. The position has remained vacant since October 22, 2021, when the prior Administrator, Michael Wood, resigned to accept a position as Deputy Director of Operations…
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on OSHA and CMS Vaccine Mandates
The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for January 7, 2022, on the vaccine mandate rules adopted by both OSHA and the Center for Medicare Services (“CMS”). The OSHA mandate applied to employers with more than 100 employees. The CMS mandate applied to…
Washington Adopts New Rules Implementing Public Health Reporting and Notification Requirements
In August 2021, Washington adopted the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA). The Act provides a rebuttable presumption of workers’ compensation coverage for certain workers and imposes new notification and reporting requirements on employers in the event of a public health emergency. In response to…
Changes and Clarifications to Loss of Earnings Power (LEP) Benefit Calculations in Washington
On November 29, 2021, The Department of Labor and Industries, through its Loss of Earning Power Workgroup, approved a significant change in how bonuses are utilized in calculating LEP benefits. In addition, the LEP Workgroup provided further clarification on how health care benefits and overtime…
OSHA Vaccine Mandate: 6th Circuit Lifts Stay on Large Employer Vax or Test Mandate | Appeal to US Supreme Court Expected | OSHA Moving Forward with Enforcement
Background: Multiple Groups including 26 states filed petitions in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and D.C. Circuits, requesting a stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) which featured a requirement that employers with at least 100 employees adopt a COVID-19 vaccination policy that requires employees…
Injunctions Against CMS Vaccine Mandate Partially Upheld – Supreme Court Review Requested
Three-Judge panels in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th and 5th Circuits have partially upheld recent District Court injunctions prohibiting enforcement of the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The mandates, originally adopted in rules adopted by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services…
U.S. District Courts Block Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers
On Monday, November 29, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Schelp of the Eastern District of Missouri, issued a preliminary injunction which prohibited implementation and enforcement of the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers. The preliminary injunction only applies to…
6th Circuit To Hear OSHA Vax ETS Challenge; OSHA Suspends Action; State Plans Expected To Wait And Watch
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit was selected to hear the consolidated challenges to Federal OSHA ETS mandating vaccine or test for large employers. The Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction over federal appeals arising from the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and…
OSHA Vaccine Mandate: Lawsuits in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, and D.C. Circuits; 5th Circuit Issues Stay
Background: Multiple Groups including 26 states filed petitions in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and D.C. Circuits, requesting a stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) which featured a requirement that employers with at least 100 employees adopt a vaccination policy that requires employees to…
OR-OSHA Seeks to Eliminate “Rogue Supervisor” Defense… Again
Issue: Déjà vu – all over again. In 2012 OR-OSHA informed the regulated community that it intended to develop an administrative rule to limit the application of the “Rogue Supervisor” defense endorsed by the Court of Appeals in the CC&L decision. As a result of…
OSHA Official Warns Employers To Prevent Heat-Related Incidents
With average temperatures rising as a result of climate change, a top OSHA official is warning employers to ensure they take adequate precautions to protect their workers from heat-related injury or death, or face risk of enforcement actions and penalties. Kelly Schnapp, director of OSHA’s…
Congress Moves To Gut OSHA Plan To Weigh Violations In Procurement
Despite a threatened veto from the White House, the Senate appears slated to join the House in adopting legislation that would gut OSHA’s plan for implementing President Obama’s directive that the agency consider government contractors’ records of workplace violations in granting contracts. The Senate has…
