Workplace Safety Archives - Page 2 of 4

Employer Alert: The Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act

Kollman & Saucier

02/03/2021

After cutting short the 2020 legislative session because of the pandemic, the Maryland General Assembly has returned this January with confronting COVID-19 among its highest priorities. One item employers should be keenly aware is the Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act, which would impose multiple new mandates on Maryland employers. The legislation, cross-filed as House Bill 481 and Senate Bill 486, is scheduled for a hearing in the...

Kollman & Saucier

01/29/2021

Agency Activity, COVID-19, Workplace Safety

Earlier today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace. The Guidance is not legally binding but does detail recommended best practices around managing COVID-19 in the workplace. OSHA has reiterated that workers should continue to maintain at least a six-foot distance from others when possible, wash hands, properly wear a face mask (covering nose...

Kollman & Saucier

11/19/2020

COVID-19, Workplace Safety

On November 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") published an update to its "Frequently Asked Questions" to clarify it position on the use of cloth face coverings as personal protective equipment in the workplace. The need for clarification arose after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a scientific brief on November 10, 2020 finding that some cloth face coverings...

Kollman & Saucier

08/04/2020

Agency Activity, COVID-19, Workplace Safety

As an increasing number of states, local governments, and private employers are mandating that employees, particularly those who work indoors and in close proximity to other employees, wear masks covering the mouth and nose to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, last Friday, OSHA updated its frequently asked COVID-19 questions and answers. As to wearing cloth masks, OSHA stated unequivocally that workers who wear cloth masks to prevent...

Kollman & Saucier

07/27/2020

COVID-19, Virginia Employment Law, Workplace Safety

On July 27, Virginia became the first state in the United States to implement a COVID-19 workplace safety rule. The new rules require employers covered by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) program to immediately comply with guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state-issued regulations. The standard applies to most Virginia workplaces, including retail employees, office workers, and persons...

Kollman & Saucier

07/07/2020

COVID-19, Workplace Safety

Before the July 4th weekend, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published frequently asked questions and answers about best practices for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. The FAQs cover topics from cleaning and disinfecting to personal protective equipment. The answers include links to relevant OSHA publications like OSHA’s Guidance on Returning to Work and an OSHA Alert...

Frank Kollman

12/12/2019

Workplace Safety

A supervisor in North Dakota has been indicted for obstruction of justice in connection with an OSHA investigation of a worker's death. US v. Reisinger, Case 1:19-cr-00240-DLH (DND, 2019). The supervisor of forty (40) employees allegedly lied about his knowledge of the work being performed and whether it posed a hazard. He also is charged with concealing evidence from OSHA in the form of written work orders. The accident...

Frank Kollman

10/17/2019

Workplace Safety

In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopted new weighted inspection rules to access its enforcement activity. In the past, OSHA measured the effectiveness of its enforcement programs by counting the total number of inspections without regard to the type of inspection. In other words, OSHA gave itself credit for effective enforcement by equating an inspection of a complaint about "strange smells" emanating from a nearby...

Kollman & Saucier

06/11/2019

State Law, Workplace Safety

In the past three months, four states [Florida, New Mexico, South Dakota and Minnesota] have put in place no vaping laws for most indoor workplaces. Wisconsin may become the fifth, with a bill introduced last month that seeks to expand its no workplace smoking ban to include vaping and e-cigarettes. Thus far, 17 states have general workplace bans on vaping and e-cigarettes, including our neighbors D.C. and Delaware. Maryland presently does not...

Kollman & Saucier

12/14/2018

Employer Liability, Workplace Safety

I remember driving downtown to visit a client this past summer. I was waiting at the traffic light at Light and Lombard streets and must have seen at least a dozen people riding by on scooters. For better or worse, I had no clue until that day that electric scooters (or e-scooters) were a thing. They have quickly descended upon many major cities. They are app-based scooters that permit a user to ride across the city, up to 15 miles per hour,...

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Email Updates

Employer Alert: The Maryland Essential Workers’ Protection Act

OSHA Provides Further Guidance on Managing COVID-19 in the Workplace

The Latest On Facemasks in the Workplace

OSHA Updates and Removes Guidance From Its COVID-19 FAQs

Virginia COVID-19 Worker Protection Rule Takes Effect

OSHA Publishes Faqs For Workplace Safety During Covid-19 Pandemic

If You Cooperate with the Government, Do Not Lie - An OSHA Lesson

OSHA's New Weighted Inspection Rules Go Into Effect

Vaping and E-Cigarette Use Increasingly Included In "No Smoking" In The Workplace Bans

E-Scooters... What's An Employer To Do?

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Email Updates

Category: Workplace Safety

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