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Marijuana presents a challenging situation for employers around the country. Marijuana (cannabis) is illegal under federal law because it is classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This means Congress has determined that there is no medical value whatsoever for marijuana. Yet a total of some 36 states legalized cannabis for medical purposes, and…
A recent 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case from Michigan emphasizes the importance of creating and implementing computer and data privacy policies as well as monitoring employee use of digital data. The facts reveal that two employees of a Michigan truck and trailer company were part of the sales team for Royal Truck & Trailer Sales and Service, Inc.…
Since 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has increased OSHA penalties annually based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, after a 26 year increase hiatus. The DOL is required to adjust maximum OSHA penalties for inflation annually by the 15th of January. Accordingly, the maximum OSHA civil penalties for 2021 have been adjusted as follows,…
On January 29, 2021 the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim Frederick issued a Guidance statement providing information to employers and employees regarding the implementation of a COVID-19 protection program. The Guidance is intended to be informational only to provide assistance to employers for planning and guidance purposes. However, the statement does recommend that employers use…
On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has issued citations arising from 300 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $3,930,381. Some of the violations employers were cited for include failure to: implement a written respiratory protection program; comply with required medical evaluations, respirator fit…
The Process Safety Management (PSM), Hazard Communication (HazCom) and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards were implicated in a recent decision issued on December 31, 2020 by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Secretary of Labor v Mansfield Industrial, Inc. The facts reveal that the employer, Mansfield Industrial, provides services at a plant in Freeport, Texas operated by…
Even in a level 3 snow emergency Bugbee & Conkle is available normal business hours 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Call us on our regular business line, , email us, or reach out on one of our social media pages. We are working remotely and attending hearings via telephone conferences. We hope you and your loved ones are all safe…
For years, many considered Cardiovascular Disease to be an older man’s disease, when in fact, heart disease & stroke are the number one killer of women. To help dispel the myths and raise awareness, our office participates in the annual #GoRedForWomen campaign led by the American Heart Association. Why? Since the launch of this campaign, there has been a nearly…
Since the onset of the pandemic in the Spring of 2020, the Director of the Ohio Department of Health, through its orders, has encouraged employers to permit “as many employees as possible to work from home by implementing policies in areas such as teleworking and video conferencing.” As a consequence, many Ohioans have been working from home in accordance with…
Shortly after the inception of the pandemic, Ohio state lawmakers got to work proposing legislation to cover coronavirus in the workplace. House Bills 571, 573, 605, 633, 667, and 668 propose amendments to the occupational disease provision of the workers’ compensation statute (4123.68) to include COVID-19 as a scheduled disease for first responders, essential workers, health care workers, grocery store…