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Safety/Health

The uphill battle to vaccinate all employees

05/11/2021
The challenges employers face trying to create safe workplaces this summer mirror those facing the nation at large. Although most employers want to ensure as many employees as possible are vaccinated against covid-19, a significant percentage of people don’t want the shots.

OSHA: Act fast to curb workplace infections

05/06/2021
After almost a year of inaction as the coronavirus raged, OSHA is now scrambling to play catch-up. Biden administration officials say OSHA is committed to protecting workers from infection as covid-19 hot spots emerge even as the pandemic winds down.

Here’s another reason not to mandate covid vaccines

04/29/2021
OSHA has determined that requiring employees to receive covid-19 vaccines automatically makes any adverse reaction to the vaccine a work-related, OSHA-recordable event that must appear on OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301.

OSHA pumps brakes on covid-19 ETS roll-out

04/29/2021
OSHA’s much-anticipated, much-dreaded emergency temporary standard on workplace covid-19 safety is on hold. Credit recent success in vaccinating more than 200 million Americans.

Vaccine incentives: What to do until EEOC acts

04/27/2021
Employers are asking the EEOC what kind of incentives they can offer to encourage employees to get vaccinated against covid-19. The commission hasn’t provided guidance yet, and won’t say when that will happen. Until official guidance appears, employers should follow two basic principles when developing vaccine incentives.

Parker gets Biden’s nod to run OSHA

04/20/2021
Douglas L. Parker has been tapped to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Currently the chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Parker was nominated April 13.

NY law offers definition of marijuana impairment

04/20/2021
Medical or recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 44 states. But no state law requires employers to tolerate employees who come to work high. The trouble is, marijuana impairment is difficult to determine—or define.

Your vaccination decisions: 5 key issues to consider

04/15/2021
You should absolutely formalize your decisions in a written vaccination policy that you provide to each employee, so that everyone is on the same page as to your requirements and expectations. Here are the five key considerations that should be front of mind.

As pandemic eases, which employees should you bring back into the workplace?

04/15/2021
Many employees who were sent home at the start of the pandemic are in no rush to return to the workplace full time. The “when” and “who” and “where” of returning your workers requires looking at these key questions, according to attorney Jon Hyman.

Can you ask workers if they’ve been vaccinated?

04/15/2021
The EEOC says employers can legally ask workers about their COVID vaccination status—and require proof—without sparking liability under federal employment laws like the ADA or Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act GINA. But you need to be careful with any follow-up questions.