Attorneys representing employers and industry groups say draft revisions to California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) represent a “big improvement” over the current rules, including easing some requirements covering what constitutes exposure, notification requirements and testing obligations.
As the White House continues to weigh OSHA’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) for COVID-19, several states are adapting their emergency pandemic rules for long-term use, including moves by California regulators to loosen requirements for vaccinated workers and by Oregon to retain that state’s once-temporary standard indefinitely.
Attorneys representing an employer industry coalition are pressing California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to amend its controversial COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) to clarify and ease certain key provisions of the rules, while also tracking “cleanup” legislation in the state legislature to further address uncertainty over the ETS.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York are asking a federal appeals court to hold that even a binding OSHA COVID-19 standard would not preempt their claims that the retail giant violated state pandemic safety mandates, despite a district judge’s ruling that such protections are part of OSHA’s “primary jurisdiction.”
A California superior court judge is rejecting industry calls for a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) COVID-19 worker health and safety emergency temporary standard (ETS) adopted last year, while also saying the plaintiff groups are unlikely to prevail on the merits of the case.
A California state senator is advancing legislation to bolster California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) enforcement measures to protect workers from COVID-19, provide new tools to hold large employers accountable for workplace health and safety violations, and encourage workers to report unsafe working conditions while preventing employer retaliation.
New York is suing Amazon over what it claims is the retail giant’s failure to protect workers from COVID-19 at its facilities in New York City, creating another front in the wide-ranging court battle over whether OSHA’s “primary jurisdiction” over workplace safety preempts states’ enforcement of their pandemic rules.
California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra (D) is launching a new section within his division of public rights that will in part bolster enforcement of worker health and safety rules, including of the controversial new Cal/OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from COVID-19.
Employer attorneys are warning that problems hampering California OSHA’s (Cal/OSHA) enforcement and appeals board units are likely to continue under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposed fiscal year 2021-22 budget, which barely increases the agency’s funding over last year.
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) is further clarifying its recently adopted COVID-19 worker safety emergency temporary standard (ETS) for a variety of issues and situations, amid ongoing opposition from hundreds of employer and industry groups that are urging state leaders to delay enforcement of the rules and provide related relief.