An Alabama manufacturer has pled guilty to willfully violating OSHA regulations stemming from the company’s practice of removing safety guards on a moving piece of equipment, which caused the tragic death of an employee. The company manufactured flat rectangular plastic sheets by feeding raw materials through large rollers, which often got…
Read More…
Los Angeles County has passed an ordinance extending its COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave after its previous ordinance expired on December 31, 2020 (read our original article on the county’s ordinance here). The new ordinance is set to expire two weeks after the local emergency order expires. In addition to extending the…
Read More…
A number of California cities and counties have extended their COVID-19 (coronavirus) emergency paid sick ordinances, or are preparing to do so in the coming weeks. Below is a list of ordinances that have already been extended, or may be extended soon. Oakland (city): The City of Oakland has extended its…
Read More…
The federal Department of Homeland Security has again extended its temporary relaxation of the standards for physically inspecting a new worker's employment eligibility documents when completing the Form I-9. This is the fourth 30-day extension of the relaxed standard, with the new expiration now September 19, 2020. As we originally reported, Homeland Security relaxed the requirement for…
Read More…
The federal Department of Homeland Security has announced another extension of its temporarily relaxed standard regarding physical inspection of a new worker's employment eligibility documents when completing the Form I-9. This is the second 30-day extension of the relaxed standard, with the new expiration now July 19, 2020. As we previously reported, Homeland Security relaxed the requirement for…
Read More…
If you’re conducting pre-shift health screenings as part of your COVID-19 (coronavirus) prevention efforts, be sure you understand how gathering medical information could implicate the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). As we previously reported, the CCPA took effect on January 1, 2020, and requires certain employers to provide disclosures to applicants,…
Read More…
Vigilant has developed a model policy to help comply with Washington’s Phase 2 requirements for manufacturing employers to continue or reopen operations, which we reported on in our last newsletter. Under Washington’s Phase 2 manufacturing requirements, each manufacturing facility is required to create a written exposure control plan for COVID-19 (coronavirus) that…
Read More…
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a framework for gradually reopening the state of California, with certain low-risk businesses being able to open as early as May 8, 2020 (Executive Order N-60-20). As we previously reported, the governor issued an order on March 19, 2020, which closed all non-essential businesses and…
Read More…
Employees who test positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus) will have an easier time getting workers’ compensation benefits under an order signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on May 6, 2020 (Executive Order N-62-20). Under the order, employees who tested positive for, or were diagnosed with, COVID-19 on or after March 19, 2020, will…
Read More…
Today, Governor Kate Brown released a phased plan for reopening Oregon, which allows individual counties to begin reopening if they can meet certain prerequisites (e.g., declining cases of COVID-19, established testing regimen, contact tracing system, etc.). Some rural counties that have no or very few cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) can…
Read More…