What Employers Should Consider About OSHA Temporarily Suspending Implementation of Vaccine Mandate
As most of you likely have heard, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suspended enforcement of its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on vaccine mandates for large private businesses after a federal appeals court blocked the measure
OSHA posted a message regarding the ETS on its website on November 12: https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets2
“The court ordered that OSHA 'take no steps to implement or enforce' the ETS [Emergency Temporary Standard] 'until further court order.' While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation,” OSHA said.
Did You Know?
Ogletree Reports on New EEOC Guidance for COVID Vaccinations
On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued revised COVID-19 guidance addressing questions related to the administration of COVID-19 vaccinations to employees. The guidance now addresses several common questions that employers have raised with respect to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Greg Guidry, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., provided APCA with his firm’s report on that development, which includes a link to a summary prepared yesterday, and other firm resources available on this subject. If you have questions, contact Greg at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
OSHA Quicktakes
OSHA inspectors have removed 624,070 workers from COVID-19 hazards during the coronavirus pandemic. OSHA's online newsletter provides the latest news about enforcement actions, rulemaking, outreach activities, compliance assistance, and training and educational resources.
Compliance Assistance Resources: FY 2020 Q3
The U.S. Department of Labor's Quarterly Update on Compliance Assistance Resources: FY 2020 Q3 has been published.
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Guidance to Employers to Help Protect Oil and Gas Workers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released coronavirus-related guidance to reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus for oil and gas workers.
Employers with workers engaged in the oil and gas industry should remain alert to changing conditions, and implement infection prevention measures accordingly. The complete news release is available here.
OSHA Offers New Guidance for Construction on Pandemic, Masks
On May 27, OSHA posted new guidance for the construction industry with specific tips for engineering controls, administrative controls, topics for training, and more.
Greg Guidry, Ogletree Deakins, told APCA that the guidance is notable because federal OSHA formally acknowledges that “[c]loth face coverings are not PPE.” This is important because it relieves employers of any requirement to conduct written worksite assessments and training for face coverings. Nevertheless, OSHA recommends their use in construction as a public health measure.
The guidance is at www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/construction.html.
Ogletree Deakins Offers Return to Work Guide
Ogletree Deakins, who has provided invaluable information for americanpipeline.org throughout the pandemic and to APCA for many years, has prepared a detailed Return to Work Guide that will help you develop plans to return employees to work and/or the workplace.
In short, with input from more than 30 highly experienced labor and employment lawyers, the Guide contains more than 45 pages of written analysis and recommendations on common return to work issues, plus 23 templates, flowcharts, and checklists as practical tools to help you craft and implement a strategic and safe return to work process. The firm is hosting a Return to Work webinar (https://ogletree.com/webinars/2020-04-23/return-to-work-a-guide-for-getting-the-workforce-back-into-the-workplace/) this Thursday, April 23, to discuss these and related issues.